LaMelo Ball spotted at Crisler Center

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on December 15th, 2018 at 9:45 PM

WTF doesn't do this justice.

I sure hope we aren't recruiting him. Wouldn't touch the Ball clan with a 10 foot pole.

(@EKouza1)

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Gucci Mane

December 16th, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^

Glad it only took a few comments to see someone rational. The attention the Ball's would bring the program would be huge for recruiting. I hope we recruit him. Just need to be up front with Lavarr that he won't be any closer to the program than any other parent.

Cali Wolverine

December 16th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^

The Ball family would be a much better match at Ohio State.  Ball is the antithesis of a John Beilein recruit.  I hope this is a joke.  The Ball experiment was a disaster at UCLA....3 kids committed, they played 1 season total at UCLA (might have been more if LiAngelo didn’t create an international incident by stealing in China).  Lonzo has a much different personality than LiAngelo and LaMelo, who both come off as spoiled.  The Lithuania experience was a joke.  The shoe company that charged an insane amount of money for a show, that then couldn’t produce the shoe was a joke.  Last year being a Lakers fan was unbearable with Lonzo’s father.  Luckily when Lebron came to town and everyone was on the trading block, including Lonzo, Lamar finally stopped becoming a distraction.

This is more in response to the ridiculous comments above, because at the end of the day Beilein will never bring the Ball family to Michigan.

lhglrkwg

December 16th, 2018 at 9:35 AM ^

Honestly, why?

Michigan has proven it can be a national title contender with the 3, 4, and minimal 5 star guys they get. The Ball clan is cancerous and I'd wonder if his presence would be a net negative. Beilein usually has great teams, so what are the odds that this is damaged by having the Ball clan infecting your locker room?

UP to LA

December 16th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^

I think the Lakers' season is instructive, though. The family was cancerous at UCLA because UCLA let them be -- it just seemed like Alford et al. were wildly deferential until the whole situation became untenable. The Lakers are being far less deferential, as shown, for instance, by signing Rondo when Ball went public with his knee surgery during trade talks. The traveling circus has gone underground, and Lonzo is showing flashes of living up to his draft position -- Jason Kidd comps are reasonable, IMO.

I think it goes without saying that the Beilein approach would be a lot closer to the Lakers' than to UCLA's. If LaMelo can play at a high level (and actually wants to play defense, which I have yet to see), I'd have no problem with him coming to Michigan.

UP to LA

December 16th, 2018 at 1:59 PM ^

Sure, but I think the moral holds: LaVar's behavior responds to leverage and expectations. For all his buffoonery, he comes off as a more or less rational economic actor trying to goose his personal/family brand. And it seems to have sunk in that the adults of the basketball world aren't putting up with his shit and have less to lose by parting company than he does.

Maize in Cincy

December 15th, 2018 at 9:52 PM ^

He would be the best recruit JB would have ever had.  I'd trust JB to put him and his family in their place when needed.  If he can't, just bench him and let him leave.

 

That said, I doubt his dad would let him come to a program like Michigan where he has to earn everything even if Michigan decided they would take him.  I could see him going to Memphis.

Perkis-Size Me

December 15th, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^

I’m sure LaMelo is a good kid and a great basketball player, but he brings unwanted  baggage wherever he goes. It’s not his fault but it is what it is. 

His father is a cancer to any locker room. If I’m a GM, and I don’t have written guarantees from LaVar that he stays out of my locker room, I don’t want anything to do with any of his sons, no matter how talented they are. 

SonOfAnAlumnus

December 15th, 2018 at 10:16 PM ^

Maybe I'm being a little too judgy, but from what I've seen from the few "Ball in the Family" episodes I've watched, I doubt he would get accepted into Michigan for academic reasons. Having said that, his skills would fit in on the offensive side of the court, but not the defensive side. He has the physical makeup to be an excellent defender, but I'm not sure he's quite committed to making that improvement. 

greatlakestate

December 15th, 2018 at 11:22 PM ^

My daughter auditioned for dance/musical theatre and they told her she needed mid-20s ACT.  Average to UM is 29-32.  The music department admissions counselor told us that the audition was absolutely the most important factor but they needed to make sure the arts majors had the academic chops to handle the classes.  tl:dr is that yes, artists (and athletes) admission standards are a little different.

bluesalt

December 16th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^

Michigan has a separate School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.  It has a completely difference admissions process than LSA.  It awards BFAs and B. Mus to undergrads, as opposed to BAs and BS, and only about 1/4 of your classes are liberal arts classes taken with LSA students.  It’s a terrific institution, but it’s also not the correct datapoint for saying that students with performing talents have lower standardized test admission standards, because they aren’t applying to the same school as everyone else.

And sure, athletes could technically be admitted into that school instead of LSA, but as a holder of a Bachelor in Music, I can’t imagine being able to align a rehearsal and performance schedule with practices and games for a major college athletic program.

wildbackdunesman

December 16th, 2018 at 9:09 AM ^

To be fair you ask what normal standards are and then give another abnormal example.

Isn't it a well-known fact that students with special skills or special circumstances get favorable treatment by admissions?

Do you honestly think that an elite athlete of a major money sport has to have a similar GPA, SAT score, and extracurricular activities as the average kid who is kind of good at math and wants to be an engineer? 

Sure, some elite athletes have the academic resume to get in to the school they attend, many didn't.

I am a teacher and I had a student who wasn't even in the top third of his class (maybe not even the top half) get into Yale.  Why?  Sports.  Good for him, he was a good kid.  Students in his high school class with significantly higher GPAs, test scores, and extracurriculars did not get into any Ivy League schools that they applied to.  Without sports - that kid would not be at Yale and probably would have went to GVSU.

UC Berkeley is a great school...they treat athletes of money sports significantly different in admissions than the typical kid.  LINK

While most applicants with low scores are turned away, athletes who average just 370 out of a possible 800 in each subject - math, critical reading and writing - are invited to enroll