Only a few weeks into the beginning of the academic year, LaVar Ball has chosen to pull his youngest son, LaMelo Ball, out of Chino Hills High School, according to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times. This is the same school which his two brothers; Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball and UCLA commit LiAngelo Ball also attended and graduated from.
LaVar plans to home school LaMelo for the next two years, taking away one of the premier talents at the high school level and the lone reason Chino Hills' gym has been swarmed with fans during his games.
“I'm going to make him the best basketball player ever,” LaVar told Sondheimer, intending to check his son out of school on Tuesday.
LaVar had already expressed concerns about Chino Hills' new coach, Dennis Latimore, coming only a season after Stephan Gilling stepped up to coach the team, leaving after only one season.
“It's a new coach and I don't like him one bit,” LaVar told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. “He's on track for UCLA, but he doesn't have to be dealing with those knuckleheads. I'm not letting them mess with his head anymore. You can put that on the principal and the coach over there.
“That coach has his own frame of mind on how he wants to play and who he picks in the team. Ok, y'all got all that going on, let's see how you do without my tutelage. Without me training those players at my house. It seems like anybody whose training over here that coach don't want him in the team.
LaVar has raised concerns about each of his sons' coaches during their stints in high school, and has been known to pull his team out of games entirely if he is displeased with the officiating, as he did earlier this summer at the Adidas Uprising Summer Tournament.
“It's good for Melo,” LaVar said. “Less distractions. He just needs to focus.”
The next time people will be able to see his son LaMelo play is during the following spring in travel ball, which could affect his ranking coming into 2019 — when he's slated to attend and sign with UCLA, like his two older brothers did.
“They'll have to sit back and wait,” LaVar said.
LaMelo Ball is currently ranked as the seventh-best player of his Class of 2019, the No. 1 player in the state and the second-best available player in the nation at his position — rankings which could quickly change if he is not enrolled to showcase his skill by the start of the season.
Follow Us
Subscribe