LiAngelo Ball and his two UCLA freshman teammates suspected of shoplifting are getting left behind in China. With their game against Georgia Tech done, the rest of the team will now be heading back to Los Angeles to prepare for their next game while Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill will remain in Hangzhou, possibly for up to two weeks as they await police investigation and, potentially, legal proceedings.
LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill will remain in Hangzhou and not be on the UCLA team flight back to Los Angeles on Saturday night, multiple sources tell ESPN. They could be in Hangzhou for "a week or two" according to another source familiar with the investigation.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 11, 2017
Ball, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, Riley, and Hill were put under arrest on suspicion of shoplifting earlier this week. They were since released on bail but missed UCLA’s season opener against Georgia Tech.
Even without those three, the No. 21-ranked Bruins still picked up the 63-60 win over the Yellow Jackets. Freshman guard Kris Wilkes led the way with 18 points for UCLA, which will play its next game on Wednesday against Central Arkansas to tip-off the Hall of Fame Classic.
But while their team is worrying about that tournament, Ball and co. have much more pressing concerns in the form of the punishment they could be handed out by Chinese authorities. Per Markazi, there’s surveillance video of the three shoplifting from some high-end stores, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Chinese laws on stealing are very strict, with those found guilty facing 3-10 years in prison, per Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel.
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