Tag: Lithuania

The Ball Brothers Put Up BUCKETS in Lithuania, Score 60 Combined Points

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Yahoo – Two days after being held scoreless in their Lithuanian League play debut, the adventures of LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball continued on Monday as the pair got back into a groove and delivered the best performances of their brief professional careers. In Vytautus’ 130-93 win over BC Lietuvos, the Ball brothers delivered an offensive tour de force right out of their Chino Hills days by producing nearly half of Vytautus’ scoring total. LaMelo scored a game-high 31 points, dished 11 assists and recorded five steals. LiAngelo did most of his damage in the low post and at the rim, but wasn’t far behind LaMelo’s team-high, chipping in 29 points of his own.

At first glance this looks like a great sports story; the Ball brothers scored a combined 60 points and seem like they’re growing into bonafide Big Ballers. Until you see this:

“The Big Baller Brand Challenge Games have been good to the Ball brothers. The Big Baller Brand Challenge Games is a five-game exhibition that was created by the Ball family patriarch in order to get his two sons more playing time on their Lithuanian club and to build their confidence.”

Get the fuck out of here. LaVar is now setting up Lithuanian tournaments to get his sons more PT? Even the refs are wearing BBB branded jerseys. I’m legitimately not kidding, look:

Apparently this game was against a “second-division team” though. So as the infamous Winston Wolf would say:

It is cool seeing two brothers throwing each other alley oops like this though. Who knows where and when you want the ball better than your own brosef?

But then, again, you see shit like this. Up 40+ points LaMelo tries to throw an alley oop to himself off the glass (and fails miserably).

This is the AAU/Lavar Ball-ification of sports. If some kid tried that on me in a blowout I would absolutely sweep the leg. Some 35 year old pissed off player that never made it in the NBA is going to snuff one of these kids for antics like this.

All in all, 60 points is 60 points so its fun to actually see these guys put up some buckets after what seems like 2 years of shit talking from the dad. Do it against an actual team in an actual game not sponsored by your father though and I’ll consider myself impressed. Until then?

LiAngelo Ball is Already Fighting Off Female Fans in Lithuania

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USA Today – LiAngelo Ball didn’t say much during his introductory press conference with Prienu Vytautas on Friday. He did, however, manage to make news while sandwiched between LaMelo and LaVar Ball. At the end of the presser, a Lithuanian reporter asked Gelo if he had a girlfriend and if he’d like to go out with her. “I just came here to play,” LiAngelo said sheepishly. When pressed for a “yes” or “no” answer on her offer, Gelo replied simply, “No comment.”

GET IT, Gelo! Barely in Lithuania a week and you already got local female reporters risking it all to take a shot. I suppose being a public access sports reporter in Lithuania probably ain’t paying Katie Nolan money, but still impressive nonetheless.

LiAngelo may end up meeting a nice Lithuanian girl and settling down in Kiev to start a family. Just can that whole NBA dream after he averages 4 points a game for Prienu Vytautas. Who knows?

PS – I know a hot topic recently has been NBA coaches saying how “disgusted” they are with ESPN reporting everything LaVar Ball says, but the guy is popular and gets clicks. Thems the rules. How about USA Today though? They created a goddamnit subdomain called “Lonzo Wire.”

Rick Carlisle literally just puked seeing that. Get them clicks, USA Today. As the wise Missy Elliott once said:

LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball Both Turning Pro to Play Together in Lithuania

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ESPN – LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball have reached an agreement to sign professional basketball deals with Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas, the team’s coach/GM Virginijus Seskus and Ball family agent Harrison Gaines told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. After ESPN reported on the seriousness of the talks between the Ball brothers and the European team on Monday afternoon, the two sides finalized the agreement hours later.

This week in LaVar Ball’s continued efforts to ruin his kids lives, dad is sending his kids off to go play professionally in LITHUANIA! Ball in the Family season 3 is going to be fucking must watch TV. You got LiAngelo going to Chinese prison for shoplifting only to be saved by Donald Trump, LaVar pulling LaMelo out of high school and then pulling LiAngelo out of UCLA, and now both of Lonzo’s brothers with questionable basketball talent will be going pro and playing together in Lithuania.

Real talk though, I understand LaVar’s want to turn all three of his sons into NBA players, but at what cost?

This is not UCLA. To quote a morbid scene from the movie 300, this will not be over quickly, you will not enjoy this.

“Prienu Vytautas, or BC Prienai as it’s often called, is a low-level club from a small, non-English speaking village of roughly 10,000 people in southern Lithuania. The team has been grappling with financial issues and started the season losing eight of its first 12 games in the Lithuanian league…The club plays in a 1,700-seat arena; 500 of those seats are reserved for team sponsors and their friends. Tickets cost around 5 euros. The team has no general manager and doesn’t practice regularly due to the poor financial situation.”

Oh this should go swimmingly.

By all the reports I’ve read from the heavy hitters like Woj, LiAngelo is not considered an NBA prospect. Dan Wetzel said scouts told him LiAngelo’s best bet was to transfer to a mid-major and stay for four years, not burn every bridge and go play in a third world country. LaMelo may have a shot at the NBA, but he’s 16. Going from high school to playing against grown ass men in Lithuania does not seem like the smart route.

As Dan Wetzel put it on Yahoo:

“[LaMelo] will be eligible for the 2019 NBA draft and there is plenty to lose playing against grown men in the Lithuanian and Baltic leagues. LaMelo is 16. The two point guards currently on the Vytautas roster are 28 and 32. This isn’t the Nike AAU Peach Jam tournament…LiAngelo is not considered an NBA prospect at this time, no matter what LaVar says.

These kids grew up rich and pampered in sunny California with every advantage, raised by an overbearing father who controlled everything for them. Now these two are going overseas to a country where they don’t speak English to play for a team where they’re not even guaranteed playing time, let alone success. These two kids quit high school and quit UCLA after things didn’t go their way. Quitting this time would probably be a death knell to any serious NBA aspirations. Its sink or swim time boys.