LaMelo Ball is going back to high school, and his brother LiAngelo Ball will try to play for the NBA G League.
The news comes one year after their father LaVar Ball pulled LaMelo out of Chino Hills High School in California to play professionally in Lithuania.
LaMelo then entered his dad’s Junior Basketball Association, a professional league sponsored by their own Big Baller Brand. And now he’ll attend a private school in Geneva, Ohio called Spire Institute.
Before LaMelo left Chino Hills, he was ranked No. 15 on 247Sports’ composite rankings among players graduating in 2019. But afterward, he fell off the list completely.
The move to Ohio, however, will allow the 17-year-old to be more visible to coaches, scouts and recruiters, plus, improve his chances of getting into a division one university, not to mention the NBA.
LiAngelo, meanwhile, who also played in Lithuania and the JBA league, will enter an NBA G League pool in hopes that he’ll be selected by a team. In the past, he declined to enter the pool, because he wanted to participate in JBA’s international play.
Before that LiAngelo played for the UCLA Bruins, until he was arrested in China for shoplifting and dropped out. He also hoped to be selected in the 2018 NBA draft but that didn’t pan out for him.
So far the 19-year-old hasn’t talked about his decision to enter the G League pool, but his brother LaMelo spoke on the move to Ohio.
“I’m excited to return to school and rejoin my class on the court for my senior year,” he told Slam. “Playing in international competition was a great experience. I learned and matured so much. I appreciated the JBA experience my dad provided for me. I think it helped my development. I can’t wait to play with my peers.”
