What Really Happened to the Ball Family in Lithuania
LaVar, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball arrived in Lithuania on January. 3, to enormous fanfare. The younger brothers of Lonzo Ball were foregoing their college eligibility to play professional basketball game for BC Vytautas in the small town of Prienai.
With that, came a reality show, Big Baller Make, and — of course — LaVar Ball's clashes with another coach. The disagreements with Vytautas coach Virginijus Seskus ultimately led to LaVar pulling his sons out of Lithuania with two games remaining in the LKL season.
Donatas Urbonas, a sports reporter for 15min.lt, covered every step of the Ball family's feel in Lithuania. He discussed the whirlwind three months in an interview with For The Win.
How would you describe the past 3 months covering the Ball family's time with Vytautas?
There were probably 3 parts of the Ball experience in Republic of lithuania. The first month was completely crazy. Everything was new. Everything was kind of shocking. Everything was kind of exciting. We were following what the Ball brothers and what LaVar was saying. What are they going to say almost Lithuania – every step, every motility, every word, every new experience in Lithuania was something fun.
Then, the 2d part was kind of coming dorsum to reality. Watching it, we started following more closely. Similar, how LaMelo was performing on the court. If LiAngelo was good, and he actually was pretty good. He was very, very underrated coming into Lithuania. We thought probably that LaMelo might contribute more considering nosotros saw more potential in Melo'south game. Gelo is three years older and he's more than mature for the pro game, merely however, we expected more than from Melo.
Just the tertiary calendar month was kind of deplorable. I don't know if you saw, just during the games that we broadcasted on Facebook, you could tell that at that place wasn't many people in the stands. Also, the Facebook numbers decreased a lot. Comparing to the get-go games where we had more than than 100,000 people watching, and and then in the end, information technology was like 5 or 6,000 people. It was a picture of the overall attention in Republic of lithuania. We got bored, people got bored. Mostly because we saw that LaMelo tin can't perform at the pro level withal, and most of the people were irritated with the LaVar and Coach Seskus stuff that injure the team. Also, some of the players had a bad approach to LaMelo and LiAngelo, so these inside conflicts were damaging to the overall image in Lithuania.
3 months is a pretty short fourth dimension, merely it was a very dissimilar experience calendar month by calendar month.
What did you detect about LaVar and Seskus' human relationship and how it deteriorated over time?
For me personally, information technology was strange. I was surprised why LaVar was and so mad. The primary thing why he was so mad and why he went crazy on the coach was that Seskus didn't put both Ball brothers in the starting lineup. It was the game confronting Zalgiris – the all-time team in Republic of lithuania, which actually made the EuroLeague Final Four (Europe's most prestigious tournament) – he wanted Seskus to play both brothers in the starting lineup confronting the best team. The thing is they actually played a really good game against Zalgiris. They just didn't first, which in Europe isn't really a big business. Sometimes skillful players are non starting, and who cares because they are playing the crucial minutes and being a game-irresolute factor.
Seskus probably thought that Melo, every bit a 16-twelvemonth-old kid, wasn't ready to play confronting these grown men in the elite league. LaVar got mad, and he didn't want to heed to everyone, non Omnibus Seskus. He didn't want to mind to why he did that. LaVar was fired upwardly just by the fact that LaMelo didn't start. I was surprised, and Jitney Seskus was surprised too. I don't know – mayhap it'due south language barrier. Seskus just couldn't explain to LaVar everything. Probably, it was the matter of dissimilar cultures. LaVar, Gelo and Melo are from a different basketball culture, and European basketball game is unique in its own way. Probably it was a disharmonize was basketball game cultures.
(Photo by Alius Koroliovas/Getty Images)
Was Vytautas enlightened of LaVar's history of clashing with every coach his sons play for?
I'd say yes considering they were following the Ball history actually closely before they signed them. The assistant charabanc at Vytautas was a big fan of the Ball brothers. He liked Lonzo Ball very much, and he was post-obit him even when he was playing in the NCAA. So I look the assistant coach, Marius Leonavicius, too knew the history of LaVar's clashes with coaches. It wasn't something surprising to direction, but probably the gild didn't await how hard it would exist to handle it.
How was the presence of the Ball family's reality Idiot box bear witness perceived around the club?
I think we expected that it might be more crazy than it actually was. The biggest concern with Lithuania was that the Ball family was coming here with their reality prove, and they're going to make fun of us. Let's be real: Prienai is a very small city. For Americans coming from LA to small-scale-boondocks Prienai in the wintertime, it would take been an easy way to destroy our image. Only it wasn't that bad.
I don't think the Brawl family fabricated this move only because of their reality evidence. I retrieve (Lavar) expected to improve his kids' basketball experience of playing at the pro level. For Melo, it was a actually large souvenir because they tried to play him a lot in the beginning, and he did play Gelo a lot actually. Merely maybe every bit Coach Seskus said, they didn't appreciate the opportunity how they should. They wanted to be successful in both stages, producing a good reality show while improving the kids' basketball experience. The concluding few weeks have shown that it'south gonna exist hard.
I call up Gelo got the near out of this experience considering he was playing a big number of minutes and contributing really practiced. It was great for him. I'g kind of scared virtually Melo considering he was not playing much this season. He didn't play at a high level, and Coach Seskus is never known for good practices. So, I'm afraid it was like a setback hither for LaMelo.
LiAngelo is preparing for the NBA typhoon, just LaMelo still has two more years. Do you come across any EuroLeague-quotient order taking a serious look at Melo afterwards this?
I've talked to a lot of people effectually Europe who cover the biggest clubs, and, equally far as I know, the pinnacle clubs don't consider having the Ball brothers or LaMelo on their team. But I feel like there might be another team like Prienai, which had nothing to lose, and might sign him. At that place's the large plus because Lithuania got so much international attention. And I believe there are some clubs in Europe that want the like attention, to heighten their status, to raise their financial situation. They might endeavor it and take the Ball family unit there.
AFP Photograph / Petras Malukas
What volition you lot think from this experience?
Information technology was an exciting experience because nosotros Lithuanians, we're different. We're not that expressive. We're non so energized, and LaVar is something exceptional. I don't know how his personality is perceived in the USA, but in Lithuania, information technology was something actually new, something really dissimilar. He made us express mirth. He fabricated u.s.a. smile – not in a negative way. He was an inspiring figure in Lithuanian basketball for a few months. It was a fun feel for all of Republic of lithuania.
And in the end, I was thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of this whole experience. And it really wasn't that bad, actually. In some ways, it helped the club much: to stay, to pay the players. If they weren't hither, and then probably Prienai would be unable to terminate the flavor considering of their financial troubles. Besides, Gelo played amend than we expected – even the coaches and the players really respected Gelo. Coaches in Lithuania didn't understand why in that location were and then many skeptics. He might not be the NBA player, only still, he produced good numbers in the pro league.
Then, it was fun. I met LaVar. I had a one-on-i interview. And once again, I understand that he'southward a crazy person, just he has his own arguments. He's a funny guy to listen to, he's a funny guy to have on the sidelines. Information technology was fun. There were some bad moments, some expert moments, but nothing that would destroy basketball in our country.
Overall, I'd say it was peachy.
Source: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/04/lavar-lamelo-liangelo-ball-lithuania-coach-vytautas-exit-donatas-urbonas-reaction
0 Response to "What Really Happened to the Ball Family in Lithuania"
Post a Comment