How Lonzo Ball’s brothers have emerged from the UCLA star’s shadow
Lonzo Ball is one of college basketball’s biggest stars. Every move the freshman guard made seems to be documented, all as he’s helped UCLA jump out to a 21-3 record and Top 10 ranking nationally.
Ironically, though, the Bruins' rise might not be the best basketball story in Southern California, or for that matter even in the freshman guard's own family. Rather, that comes from Ball’s alma mater, Chino Hills High School, where LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, who were once best known as “Lonzo’s younger brothers,” have emerged as stars. In the process, they have allowed Chino Hills to remain among the top ranked high school teams in the country.
“People thought we weren’t going to be as good when ‘Zo left,” LiAngelo, who goes by “Gelo” told FOXSports.com in late January. “We still had myself, [La]Melo, [fellow senior] Eli [Scott]. Our whole team is good.”
After losing the potential No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Bruins, the Huskies sit at 26-1 overall. Their loss came last week to prep school power Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, in a game they led most of the way.
Chino Hills continues to win with flair, with one brother seemingly always doing something to put the school in the national headlines on a regular basis. There was the night when Gelo put up 72 points. Or when Melo pointed at the half-court line and drilled a 35-footer in a defender’s face. Or Tuesday, when Melo tallied 92 points.
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The performance caught the attention of such NBA stars as J.R. Smith. It also left those close to the family ready to admit: As big as Chino Hills was last year, the spotlight has gotten brighter this winter.
“The phenomenon has only grown since Zo left,” Darren Moore, who was an assistant with the team last season, and currently serves as Lonzo’s trainer, said.
Moore has witnessed the phenomenon since the beginning.
The 28-year-old grew up in Chino Hills and began training with the Balls’ father, LaVar, when he was in high school, and in search of a Division I basketball scholarship. Every day when he would arrive to work out at the family’s home, there were the Ball boys, pre-teens at that point, training alongside him. Eventually, Moore went to Northern Colorado and UC-Irvine and played professionally overseas. Meanwhile, the grooming of the Ball brothers continued.
A decade later, everyone is seeing the results.
“I told my boys, ‘To become a superstar you’re not going to go 10 years and then all of a sudden become a superstar, You’ve got to start from a very young age.,’" LaVar Ball said. "Lonzo was 9, 10-years-old, playing with his younger brothers, and we’re beating eighth grade teams.”
Since then the Ball family has gone from local phenomenon to an international one. Thanks to a 35-0 run toward the state title last year and their record this year the boys have gained a rabid online following. Collectively the trio has more than 1 million Instagram followers -- Melo has the most at more than 500,000, proving that in some circles he’s more “famous” than his older brother. People travel from all parts of California and Arizona to watch them play.
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“Somebody actually started selling counterfeit tickets online this year,” LaVar Ball said with a laugh.
Yet, the fame doesn’t seem to bother the teens. When asked about his social media following, Gelo joked, “I turned off my notifications. My phone kept dying,” while Melo was hesitant to discuss the half-court shot that made him an internet sensation in December.
The boys also deal with picture and autograph requests virtually everywhere they go, something on which they’ve gotten advice from Lonzo.
“He said appreciate them,” Melo Ball said. “We know we’re lucky to be in the position we’re in.”
Gelo will follow Lonzo to Westwood later this year, while Melo will become the focal point at Chino Hills.
With Lonzo likely in the NBA, the younger Ball brothers will continue to be compared to him. It’s something that hasn’t fazed them, and shouldn’t going forward.
“It’s like I told my boys from Day 1,” LaVar Ball said. “it’s not about making all the money in the world. Because after you’ve bought everything, then what? You better have a passion, and for them it’s basketball.”
