It appears LiAngelo Ball's UCLA career has ended before it ever began. According to TMZ Sports, Ball's father, LaVar Ball, has pulled his son from school, upset that the basketball program had yet to reinstate him from a suspension stemming from his arrest in China for shoplifting during a team trip last month.
We're told LaVar believes the suspension was unfair, especially since the charges were dropped. LaVar's people tell TMZ the famous dad thinks, "There's no need to break down a kid's spirit for making a mistake."
LaVar Ball had famously feuded with President Donald Trump over the incident, after Trump insisted he helped convince Chinese president Xi Jinping to release LiAngelo and two of his UCLA teammates from house arrest. Following their return, the Bruins basketball program suspended Ball and teammates Jalen Hill and Cody Riley indefinitely due to the incident.
Rather than transfer, however, ESPN's Jeff Goodman is reporting that LiAngelo Ball, the brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, will now begin preparation for the NBA Draft.
"He's not transferring to another school," Ball told ESPN. "The plan is now to get Gelo ready for the NBA Draft." The plan was always for LiAngelo to spend one season at UCLA and then leave, regardless of whether he was projected to be drafted.
A 3-star prospect coming out of high school, LiAngelo is not widely considered an NBA prospect.
