LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball Sign with Lithuanian Pro Team
The two remaining Ball brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo have officially turned pro and signed with Lithuanian professional team Prienu Vytautas according to sources for The Vertical. The two will officially join the team in January.
LiAngelo Ball withdrew from UCLA earlier this month after an "incident" on a team trip in China in which Ball and two other UCLA teammates were caught stealing items from a store in the team's hotel. The incident attracted national media attention and started the Trump vs. LaVar Ball twitter feud. LiAngelo was a three-star recruit when he entered UCLA and was not expected to be a key contributor for the Bruins this season.
LaMelo, who was recently taken out of Chino Hills High School due to disagreements between LaVar and the high school's coaching staff. At only 16 years of age, LaMelo showed solid promise and was a five-star recruit that had already committed to UCLA earlier.
By signing with Vytautas, both LiAngelo and LaMelo will forgo their NCAA eligibility. LiAngelo is expected to declare for the NBA draft after the 2017-18 season, but according to NBA scouts, is not expected to be drafted. LaMelo on the other hand has shown promise and could potentially make is way to an NBA team. At 16, he still has a long way to go in his development.
Father LaVar has made some outlandish guarantees in his day including but not limited to: UCLA winning the 2017 national title, saying he could beat Michael Jordan in 1-on-1, and that the NBA would be easier for Lonzo. His guarantee that all three of his sons would go pro, has now technically come true.
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