LaVar Ball declared on Monday that he will pull his son LaMelo Ball, a junior, out of Chino Hills High School, where he and his brothers have become legends for their style of play. LaVar will now homeschool LaMelo and train him; one presumes the Balls’ AAU team will remain active, as well.
Big Ballers don’t go to high school, apparently
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There are two fascinating pieces to this story: the rationale and the upshot.
The rationale is, predictably, pure lunacy. Chino Hills hired a new basketball coach — the last one quit after a single season of dealing with LaVar’s public criticism. This new coach tried to lay down the law. LaVar’s quote to Ramona Shelburne: “The coach made a comment the other day. He said, ‘all those 50 shots a game, that’s going to stop.’ So I’m like, ‘Wow.’” Yeah man, what a tyrant.
But the upshot? This seems just fine. LaVar is clearly talented at developing basketball players. Lonzo was the No. 2 pick in a stacked NBA draft after an excellent year in a major college conference. LaMelo is a top-10 recruit committed to a top program (UCLA). He’s doing something right! Having more time to work on specific skills isn’t a bad thing.
Elite young tennis players, figure skaters, gymnasts — they all choose the homeschool path. The University of California admits homeschooled students with regularity. Plus, there are other options for LaMelo if he decides to instead play abroad or in the G League for a year after he turns 18. (He may have to skip college due to his Big Baller shoes.)
The skill LaMelo seems to need the most — and one he’s less likely to get given his family’s decision to yank him at the first sign of trouble — is accepting coaching and fitting into a team. That will be something to watch in the future. But otherwise, this is just another twist in the reality show that (literally) is the Ball family.
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