You could put almost every prospect in this draft with the best trainers and coaches in the world for years and they still wouldn't be able to develop the type basketball instincts Ball … I would like to see Ball in a situation where he has to guard the opposing ball handler or two man to see if he’s capable of turning the switch on defensively against high level competition. You ever play pick-up with someone and you wonder why they take some of the shots they do? When you look through his stats from the box score, you’ll see that LaMelo Ball finished with 13 assists and one turnover. Welcome to For The Win's European Union Experience. 1, regardless of team need. With Spire up by 10 with less than a minute left, they broke the press by throwing it ahead to Ball. If you see in the video, Ball hits two threes in a short period of time toward the end of the first quarter, hitting a catch-and-shoot three from the corner at around 3:55 then hitting a deep three off the bounce after dribbling it out at about 5:07. With teammate Rocket Watts, arguably Spire’s best shooter, wide open for an easy three from the corner, Ball opted against the easy pass  for another possible assist and dribbled out right to where Watts was, where he took an off balanced three from the corner that he air-balled. Check out his second half with the put backs at 7:55 and  11:33, both were relatively easy for Ball who crashed from the outside and got way above the rim for the throw downs. 3 pick in the NBA draft, giving Jordan’s team a player with immediate notoriety and a rookie who can help put fans in the seats once the coronavirus subsides. He saw Cody. Lamelo Ball may struggle to fit in in Charlotte (Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) LaMelo Ball to the Charlotte Hornets was a thought that haunted me for the past few weeks. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft to select guard LaMelo Ball. There were numerous times he caught the first pass on the break and didn’t hesitate to fire it up, which was bad because Spire, and LaMelo in particular, did a great job for most of the game moving the ball and finding the open man for an easy shot. Well I’m going to break down some of his game, give you the good and the bad and my final, honest analysis and evaluation at the end. The fact that he has good feel for the game allows him to use his athleticism on both ends of the floor to impact the game on the glass, although he does seem more interested in crashing the offensive glass for points than he does the defensive glass. I’m not one to harp super heavily on body language, because in times I’ve seen kids get labeled as “not playing hard” when really they just aren’t a “rah-rah” kind of guy as I like to put it. The questions for Ball are in the intangibles. At times I have been critical of Father Lavar Ball’s decisions regarding his youngest two sons, but how I feel about that is neither here nor there. Like many of you, I have followed the Ball Family and the Big Baller Brand for the past few seasons. The same thing can be said about the dunk toward the end of the video at 11:25. LaMelo LaFrance Ball[1] (Chino Hills, California; 22 de agosto de 2001) es un jugador profesional baloncesto estadounidense que pertenece a la plantilla de los Charlotte Hornets de la NBA. You see that the pass and a foul is called the Toronto game to go with it right there. Instead, he sees Terry Lockett who hit four three-pointers in the game wide open in the corner and he finds him at the last second for an easy look. He caught an outlet pass that took him too far under the basket, and with a defender crashing he decided against shooting the layup. Elite vision and passing ability from Ball was one of the more impressive things about him throughout the game. If he were to be ranked nationally, I believe he’d be conservatively ranked between 10 and 25, depending on the service that’s ranking him. He did shoot passing lanes, often got back defensively and contested shots at the rim, but all too often he seemed okay with making one attempt at a deflection or steal then letting his team play 5-on-4. Take a look at 3:25, 4:45 and 6:56 in the video above. Is he more concerned with how he looks to the public than he is about his team winning basketball games? Instead of holding the basketball with LCA’s subs in, he attacked the basket hard, throwing down an impressive but unnecessary dunk, standing in the middle of the court pointing at the defender under the basket and basking in the glory of the crowd going crazy. College Level (if he’s eligible): HM-Blue Blood. The fact is, Ball is probably one of the top five most talented players in the country. You want power? Instead, he fires up a three-ball, which didn’t impact the outcome of the game but was unnecessary and felt like he only did it to pad his stats and give him more highlights. However, when talking with other people and watching him yesterday, much like his brother Lonzo, LaMelo’s shooting can be described at best as “streaky.” I’m not going to get into his form because all of the Ball’s have their unique way of shooting the ball, I’m just going to break down his points. If these things are in fact a problem, it could hold him back when it comes time for him to enter the NBA Draft because they aren’t things that NBA coaches want to fix or have to deal with. *visit For The Win: https://www.ftw.usatoday.com While he can play above the rim, he often finds ways to finish below the rim against bigger defenders using either hand or putting spin on the ball. LaMelo Ball's professional hoops career is taking a pause ... because the youngest Ball brother is returning to high school basketball, having been accepted at a super exclusive prep school. Mentioned North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State. Ball was once committed to … LaMelo Ball's passes stole the show for the Charlotte Hornets in his first NBA preseason game. The Hornets have used the No. You want finesse? The 6-7 Ball played for the Illawara Hawks of Australia’s National Basketball League during the 2019-20 season, earning NBL Rookie of the Year honors. 4:55, 6:24 on the alley-oop or 7:30 with the three-point play? The Hornets selected Ball with the No. On March 7, 2019, he scored 41 points, including 29 in the first half, in a 102–67 victory over Hillcrest Prep North at the Grind Session World Championship. Landon’s Week 3 Player Evaluations: 2021 Guards, Landon’s Week 3 Player Evaluations: 2021 Forwards, Toledo Central Catholic 54 @ Lutheran East 71 Recap, Landon’s Week 3 Player Evaluations: 2022s. 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft — has signed his rookie contract with the Charlotte Hornets, his agent Raymond Brothers of @RocNationSports tells ESPN. Take a look at about 10:35 in the video. While he’s a lottery talent, he comes with the baggage of a Father who has already had issues with an NBA Coach and owner, and he’s been in the national spotlight for a long time and seems to enjoy it. 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LaMelo Ball was fiercely hated as a high school basketball player, but he continued to work on his game and now he's an NBA rookie point guard. LaMelo Ball said he hopes to play college basketball at a top school. At times it was almost as if Ball felt like he had to shoot the basketball. 1 recruiting classes in the ESPN era Duke and Kentucky have combined for 10 of the past 12 No. His ability to pass with both hands is something very underrated about his game. For more great sports stories ... President of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak had long vowed to select the best player available in the draft, and the Ball pick reflects that. The youngest Ball … I'm It's the right there. While Spire didn’t exactly play a super tight zone, watching the tape will show that Ball often just floated in the zone looking for steals or leak out opportunities. Ranking the No. The NBA offseason has officially begun and we can finally see the light … I mean I watched the kid grow up on YouTube going for 91 points and pointing at half court and hitting it like it’s a step in three. The most impressive part about LaMelo’s finishing ability is his footwork and ability to finish with both hands around the basket. Ranking LaMelo Ball's best fits in the 2020 NBA Draft Jacob Rude March 9, 2018 LaMelo Ball will be one of the most polarizing prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft. Nov 9, 2018 LaMelo Ball is back in the prep circuit, playing at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. After hitting those two threes in the first quarter, Ball had a play in the second quarter that made me literally shake my head. Below, I have attached the raw highlights from Ball Is Life, and will be referring to them at times throughout the piece. All are simple, correct passes to make, and he does so effortlessly and correctly with his left hand. He hit one more three in the second half, but the numbers show Ball was much more effective inside the arc. As a drive-and-kick guy he got into the teeth of the zone well and found his shooters with regularity and ease. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and be sure to check out LaMelo Ball and the rest of Spire when they come to your town, you won’t want to miss it! At times I have been critical of Father Lavar Ball’s decisions regarding his youngest two sons, but how I feel about that is neither here nor there. The fact that Spire even played a zone was frustrating because it was tough to gauge how Ball would be as an on ball defender. *like FTW on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usatodayftw. “Man, straight blessing, for real,” Ball said of the six-time NBA champion and current Hornets owner. The Charlotte Hornets tonight selected guard LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. LaMelo Ball, 2020 stars, Mobley bros: 5 things to watch at Hoophall West Of all the bigs at Hoophall West, he looks like he has the most potential to take on a ball handling role at the next level. He checks all of the physical boxes, he can play both guard positions, he’s a dual threat scorer and distributor with the ball in his hands and he’s played against high level competition throughout his career. Ranking the top 14 NBA Draft prospects as draft day approaches Here we go. 1-ranked recruiting classes. LaMelo Ball - The leading online destination for men's contemporary fashion and streetwear. However, he does jump passing lanes well, he disrupts passers with his length and he finished a few plays way above the rim. Pick your spot in the second half of that video above and don’t tell me Melo doesn’t have the entire package when it comes to finishing around the rim. While it isn’t in the video, Ball caught a pass against the press with a little over 1:30 left, and while he was wide open his team was up double digits and would have been fine running the clock out. LaMelo Ball was 'lazy' and 'arrogant' in Lithuania, according to former Vytautas teammate Share this article share tweet text email link Andrew Joseph like May 1, 2018 6:16 pm LaMelo … 13 overall. In ESPN’s latest updated Top 100 for the Class of 2019, LaMelo Ball appeared back on the list for the first time in over a year, ranked as a five-star prospect at No. (Brent Lewin/Getty Images) His … LaMelo Ball, pictured here at a basketball game in Lithuania, will enroll at SPIRE Academy for the basketball season. No LaMelo Ball, no problem as Chino Hills wins second state title in three years For five years, the Ball family ruled Chino Hills basketball. LaMelo Ball scored 92 points today out his team's 146 total!! LaMelo Ball is preparing to enter the NBA with the 2020 NBA Draft set to take place on November 18, but he’s expanding his ventures beyond basketball. While he makes it look very easy, that is not an easy play to make. UCLA suspended him, and he ended up leaving school. Can he play hard for all four quarters? *follow @ForTheWin: https://www.twitter.com/forthewin I had the pleasure of watching 2019 LaMelo […] Like many I was under the assumption that LaMelo Ball’s best attribute was his ability to shoot from deep. While I typically don’t do this, I’m positive he had more than one turnover (tape don’t lie), but Ball was pretty rock solid with the basketball and made good decisions for the most part. Check out the clip at 11:00, where he snakes into the teeth of the defense, using a little ball fake to freeze the defender then finishes with his right hand on the left hand side, using spin on the ball just in case to avoid the block. Throughout the video you’ll see Ball make both simple and tough passes and he makes them look very easy doing so. He checks all the physical boxes for not just the college level but also beyond that. But which group was the best? Last Updated: April 19, 2019 Like many of you, I have followed the Ball Family and the Big Baller Brand for the past few seasons. LiAngelo Ball started the 2017-18 college season with UCLA, but he was involved in a shoplifting scandal during a team trip to China. As a legitimate 6’6″ guard, LaMelo checks all the boxes when it comes to height, length and athleticism. He finished 11-for-20 from the field, and eight of his nine misses came from behind the arc. Mide 2.00 metros de estatura y juega en al posición de base. Building on his shot selection, sometimes Ball seemed to be playing more for the highlight reel and stat sheet than he did to help his team win. Schmitz: LaMelo Ball Ball is the most talented prospect in this class and whom I would take No. Shop at our store and also enjoy the best in daily editorial content. Only time will tell, but for now here’s my take. LaMelo Ball is thrilled to have a chance to play for the Charlotte Hornets. Enjoy! It's easy and lazy to question LaMelo Ball's fit on a team because of Stephen Curry's presence. [34] Since he played at such a high level it didn’t have much of an outcome on the game, but if things aren’t going his way and he comes off the way he did that could feed over into his teammates and have a negative outcome on the game. I had the pleasure of watching 2019 LaMelo Ball and Spire Institute play Life Christian Academy at Virginia State University yesterday and everyone keeps asking me the same question: How good is LaMelo Ball in person? On November 10, 2018, Ball debuted for SPIRE, recording 20 points, 13 assists and five rebounds in a 96–84 win over The Hill School. On a broken down play, LaMelo gets the defender off of his feet, gets into the middle of the zone where he has a good look at a floater from about 10 feet out. By: Andy Nesbitt, https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/05/lamelo-lavar-liangelo-ball-lithuania-teammate-vytautas-lazy-arrogant-comments-stats, LaMelo Ball was 'lazy' and 'arrogant' in Lithuania, according to former Vytautas teammate, I found this on FTW and wanted to share: He and LaMelo signed with a Lithuanian When it gets down to the wire and the game gets gritty, can you count on him to make the right play? tsutomu 2020年12月15日 LaMelo Ball Drains His First Bucket Of The #NBAPreseason 2020-12-15T12:03:01+09:00 NBA Add to favorites Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball’s sensational #NBAPreseason run continued when he created space and knocked down the jumper to get his first points as a Hornets player! Sure, they're both considered point guards. There’s no doubt in my mind that if LaMelo Ball is allowed to play college basketball he can play it at the highest level. Even the guy who makes three in a row will then take a terrible shot and may say something like “heat check!” Ball had multiple moments in the game (many of them not on the tape), that were just like that. %link% I’m not against putting an exclamation point on the game, but the way he did it and acted afterwards felt like it was just for the many camera men and women underneath the basket. LaMelo Ball — the No. On my 2020 NBA Draft Big Board, I listed Ball as my number one prospect., I listed Ball as my number one prospect. However, too often we would see Ball disengaged and look like he did not care whether or not his play affected his team in a good way or not. American basketball player LaMelo and his father LaVar Ball talk during the training session at the BC Prienai-Birstonas Vytautas arena in Prienai, Lithuania, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. Learn about LaMelo Ball and other recruit player profiles on RecruitingNation.com.