If nothing else, LaVar Ball has ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit. A few months ago he announced his intention to start a junior pro basketball league. The goal is to give young ballers (age 17-19) that are focused on developing their skills outside the restrictions an NCAA member school, the opportunity to play and develop against top competition. Ball announced today that ex-college star and NBA player Ed O’Bannon, ex-NBA player and coach Earl Watson, and Ball’s son Lonzo will be part of the Junior Basketball Association.
The trio will select players for its upcoming league this summer. Open tryouts will take place in eight cities across America beginning on April 7th in Seattle at Garfield High School. In a conversation with SLAM Magazine, O’Bannon said the following about the JBA:
I believe this is a great opportunity for young athletes to showcase their skills. According to Mark Emmert, athletes who want to focus on getting ready for the next level and want to be paid have no place in college sports. The Junior Basketball Association will now provide an alternate option for them. I’m looking forward to getting started.
LaVar boasts that ballers between the ages of 17 and 19 are eligible to try out and that in addition to playing the players, they will also hand over luxury cars –“Mercedes, BMW, or Cadillac”—to the championship-winning team. At this time the source of funding for the JBA is unknown. This will be quite a feather in Ball’s cap if he can pull it off. If successful, it’ll also become a new nightmare for the NCAA.
After the first open tryout in Seattle on April 7th, the JBA will host a Los Angeles area open tryout on the 8th at A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, CA. The other tryout cities include Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. All tryouts will take place on weekends throughout the month of April.
This is something we will be keeping a very close eye on.