Chino Hills was a perennial power with the Ball Brothers, but now that Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo are no longer with the school, they are just a solid if not spectacular high school basketball team.
According to Uproxx, they are ok with that.
The Huskies went 30-3 last season, and finished the season as USA TODAY’s fourth-ranked team nationally. The last time the program came to the HoopHall Classic, in 2016, it was the No. 1 program in the country. Now at 11-8 this season, the program is nowhere near the national posterity it had seen during the Ball era.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. The spotlight is relatively gone. The team doesn’t have to read think pieces and columns criticizing the way it plays or any other things surrounding the way the program operates. Simply put, they get to play basketball.
“We’re more of underdogs, a lot of people have doubted us,” Okongwu said. “I have faith in my teammates and my team. I know we’re just as fine as we were last year. I think we’re one of the best teams around.”
Added Ujadughle, “I feel like there’s even more spotlight on us now. Because everyone is going to say ‘Melo left, Melo’s gone.’ But we’re still a very great team. I’m starting to show how much I can play and how much I’ve evolved year from year. I’m enjoying it.”
There is far less attention on them this year, and maybe that is ok. The Principal and the coach had grown tired of the Big Baller Brand circus, and now they don’t have to deal with it.