Day 228

Fresh Start_228: This needs to stop Lavar
Blaming a loss on 3 kids that aren’t yours is something you discuss at the dinner table not out in public. But, apparently Lavar Ball didn’t the memo about that. Ball’s explanation on why his son’s team lost in the Elite 8 was because “realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow.”

First of all, this claim is just absolutely absorb and something that doesn’t make any sense. One of those “three white guys” was one of the Bruins leading scorer Senior Bryce Alford. Alford averaged 15 points per game this season for UCLA and was one of the best 3-point shooters in the country shooting a career high 43% from the land beyond the arc. The other two players were Thomas Welsh and T.J. Leaf. Welsh who is a Junior averaged almost a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds per game this season. The other was a Freshman forward T.J. Leaf who held his own averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds. These “three white guys” helped UCLA get to where they are, and 2 out of the 3 are upper classmen who created a chemistry well before Lonzo would sign his letter of intent. All of 3 of these players would have become a center piece in someone else’s system that could’ve beat UCLA in that spot anyway. On top of all that, Kentucky was just a better team.

The Wildcats got within a mere second of going into OT against the National Champs in North Carolina. Why is it hard for Lavar Ball to believe that his son will lose some games in his career, even in the playoffs. Every good player has a night off and Lonzo happened to have one in the biggest game of his career. The team also isn’t all in the same shape that Lonzo is in. College ball isn’t the same as the NBA because of the sheer factor that most of the guys on the court will not make it to the league. Most teams rely on one or two players to carry them to a National Title and well Lonzo didn’t deliver.

The second factor is why should Lavar Ball even care? UCLA is just a stop on the journey to the NBA for his 3 sons, so why would a National Championship matter if you are chasing an NBA dream after one season? The National Championship will be an afterthought when Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LeMelo get drafted.

This will hurt the Ball family in more ways than one. Not only has Lavar made life harder for Lonzo in the NBA calling out Lebron and Steph Curry so far, but he will now have every “white guy” proving to Lonzo and his boisterous father that they deserve to be in the NBA. This will also come back to hurt LiAngelo next season when he has to play with Thomas Welsh and TJ Leaf at UCLA. How will LiAngelo be able to have the same chemistry when they got called out by Lavar Ball?

Speaking out and having sound bites as a parent is the single most dangerous thing you can do for your son or daughter in sports. Not only will it put a target on your kids back for other players, but it will put an impression in the coaches, general manager, and owners mind that the player has “baggage,” which could cost your kid millions of dollars or even a championship. The Ball sons need to have an intervention with Lavar Ball before all 3 of them are serving me a burger and fries at McDonald’s.
Sources:(espn.com, bleacherreport.com)

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