LiAngelo Ball’s UCLA basketball career is over in apparent protest of double jeopardy.
The UCLA freshman guard appeared Tuesday with his father, LaVar Ball, on “TODAY” for an interview, in which they offered insights into LiAngelo’s recent arrest in China and subsequent withdrawal from school.
The Balls shocked the sports world Monday when they announced LiAngelo is leaving UCLA and will prepare for a potential NBA career on his own, instead of serving the lengthy suspension they claim school levied against him.
“China already said, ‘OK, he made a bad mistake, we’re gonna drop the charges,” LaVar said. “That’s the punishment they gave him, now we over here. And we gotta serve some more punishment?
“He already fessed up for what he did. He apologized. What is the long process for? We only went to UCLA – one and done – to play basketball.”
“That’s the whole season pretty much,” LiAngelo said of his reported two- to three-month ban. “That’s just a long time of doing nothing – I’d rather be playing.”
Lonzo Ball already is in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and LiAngelo’s personal NBA preparation is all part of LaVar’s master plan to have his three sons play for their hometown team.
“All these boys are gonna get on the Lakers,” LaVar said. “Watch how I do this, and people gonna look up and they gonna say ‘Wow, how’d they all get on the Lakers?'”
NBA insiders don’t expect any team to draft LiAngelo, especially in light of his brief college tenure.
But LaVar Ball always seems to have something up his sleeve, and we’ll just have to wait and see what that is.
