LaVar Ball withdraws LiAngelo from UCLA to prepare for the NBA draft (Updated)

So, LaVar Ball pulling LiAngelo out of UCLA is looking for real, huh.

Update:

Well, as it turns, this LiAngelo-leaving-UCLA thing looks like it’s more than just good marketing spin of a suspension.

After the TMZ report and LaVar’s initial statements to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, LaVar made additional comments to Darren Rovell, also of ESPN, stating he would “make [LiAngelo] way better for the draft [than] UCLA ever could have.”

Apparently, Ball was also not pleased that LiAngelo would come off the bench at UCLA.

A UCLA official also spoke to ESPN’s Arash Markazi, signaling the end of the brief Ball era at UCLA and reiterating concerns about (youngest son) LaMelo’s eligibility due to his signature Big Baller Brand shoe.

UCLA has yet to release an official statement and LiAngelo remains enrolled in the school. Still, it seems unlikely that this ends with the middle Ball brother playing for the Bruins in March.

Previous:

Wow! Two LaVar Ball stories in one day, we are so #blessed. While the Los Angeles Lakers were busy creating new rules to minimize Papa Ball’s influence on post-game media coverage, the senior Big Baller himself was busy allegedly pulling LiAngelo Ball from UCLA.

According to TMZ Sports, LiAngelo will be withdrawing from UCLA on account of LaVar’s displeasure with his son’s suspension over the China shoplifting incident. LaVar confirmed this with ESPN, telling Jeff Goodman that he has pulled LiAngelo out of UCLA “to explore other options.”

LaVar, apparently, believes the suspension was unnecessary because the Chinese authorities dropped the charges. On one hand, it absolutely makes sense UCLA would suspend the players for breaking the rules (and the law!) while representing the school overseas. That’s a very reasonable response. On the other hand, student-athletes, especially elite and/or high-profile student-athletes, have long gotten away with breaking the rules (and the law!).

In any case, the overwhelming likelihood here is that LiAngelo will be back at UCLA in January, particularly if the Balls don’t receive any other enticing offers. (And it’s hard to see why schools would be chasing after LiAngelo, who hasn’t played an NCAA game yet.) TMZ’s sources say that LiAngelo is “not officially withdrawn from the school but he’s at home and will not return.” Which is to say, this has all the shapings of a classic (and effective) LaVar branding ploy.

UCLA’s fall quarter ends Friday, Dec. 8, which means, for all intents and purposes, LiAngelo just skipped out on the last week of classes and final exams. Given what we know about the lifestyles of student-athletes, again, this seems like something not terribly hard for the academic department to forgive.

So, then, it seems like the only UCLA obligations LiAngelo will miss are the games for which he is already suspended. Making it look like LiAngelo is not suspended, but rather withdrawn from the school over the injustice of it all. When the suspension has passed and LaVar can release a statement about how badly UCLA needs LiAngelo back, say, by January when the winter term starts, we’ll all have forgotten about this on account of 15,478 other news stories about Trump, LaVar and/or nuclear war.

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Until we get confirmation from UCLA, this looks like nothing more than LaVar spinning LiAngelo’s suspension into a “withdrawal.”