Pulled his aau team off the court after he received a technical foul for arguing a call. The result of his actions was a forfeit. Will aau officials act ? What lesson is he teaching his team ? I think he should be either suspended or banned from coaching in any aau sanctioned event. Anyone else have a thought ? Any folks with experience with the aau ?
OT: lavar ball
- Thread starter echowaker
- Start date
the dude is nothing but a loud mouth jackass -- any news related to him I simply do not even read.
"Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away...
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door... (slam!)
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away..."
Hughes Mearns.
I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
I wish, I wish he'd go away...
When I came home last night at three
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door... (slam!)
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away..."
Hughes Mearns.
I coached in AAU ball years ago and a few of the officials I experienced back then were atrocious. Most were credible high school officials but a few were just getting experience. We were never at the top level, so I guess we got the worst of the draw.
There was one game where I was angry enough at a horrible call that I briefly thought about pulling my team off the court but I realized that doing so would hurt my kids, not the ref. (Daddy Ball doesn't have a filter or second thought to restrain himself.)
I complained to the tournament leaders after the game about the ref - they already knew he was a problem - and got assurance that we would not be assigned to that referee for the balance of the tournament. I'm not sure that would work in every situation, but that was my only experience.
There was one game where I was angry enough at a horrible call that I briefly thought about pulling my team off the court but I realized that doing so would hurt my kids, not the ref. (Daddy Ball doesn't have a filter or second thought to restrain himself.)
I complained to the tournament leaders after the game about the ref - they already knew he was a problem - and got assurance that we would not be assigned to that referee for the balance of the tournament. I'm not sure that would work in every situation, but that was my only experience.
I have experience, albeit on the girls side in SoCal, and my daughter has played at the location this happened and played for a top SoCal team that was also labeled as AAU when they really weren't. I can explain.
First off, completely forget that there is some overseeing AAU commission that will go after him. There isn't for high schoolers. There is for middle and elementary kids, but it's not mandatory to join, and is an afterthought if you never plan on attending an AAU sanctioned event, and more teams don't than do. The top teams are sponsored by shoe companies and play on their own circuit...Nike Nationals and Adidas Gauntlet. Nike and Adidas dictate certain periods where their teams must play in their exclusive tournaments. Other than those, they're free to play where and when they want.
To clear it up a bit more...anyone can start up a basketball club tomorrow provided they have a practice spot, gets insurance, and can get jerseys. Yes...it's that simple. And if you want to go to NCAA certified events, just be cleared as a youth coach by the NCAA (not hard...just pass a test that anyone here that follows FB recruiting could pass in their sleep, do a background check, and pay a fee) and pay the registration fees for your team to play in the tournament. NCAA certified events run about $650-750 per team, whether it's boys or girls. Otherwise, just pay the fees for the regular tournaments, where there is no coach checking involved. The term AAU just gets slapped on because most tournaments use AAU age standards and AAU puts on some tournaments. But this was an NCAA certified event. AAU had nothing to do with it.
Now to the actual issue...I know lot of the refs who do the boys cross over to the girls side here, so I know of or have seen a vast number of the refs. Lavar is spot on...refs here are petty and are prone to power trip. If the refs don't like you for any reason, be it a coach or player, they will take it out on you and make it 7 or 8 on 5. Usually, the name on the front of your jersey carries weight. While the Big Ballers are not major shoe company sponsored, they are a name because of the Ball brothers and the beatings they were giving some of the top Nike, Adidas, and unaffiliated teams in the last couple of years. That usually gets you the benefit of the doubt on calls, but it's not uncommon for refs here to give all of the calls to a lesser team to keep the game even. And Lavar has gained enough animosity, warranted or unwarranted, to have refs screw his players over in games.
I watched the video. It wasn't the call of the ref who made the call, and I have a hard time believing he cleanly he saw everything that happened that lead to the player on the navy team hitting the floor. It really was the call of the ref running the sidelines who walks into the frame late and is out of position, or the call of the ref on the baseline looking back at the play. Lavar was justified to be pissed, but without seeing what had transpired in the game up to that point, I can't say it was worth pulling the team off the court and leaving. But if the refs were pulling the usual crap of "Team A can be physical with Team B, but if Team B blows on a Team A player, it's a foul" that is so popular here, then it wasn't a horrible decision to pull his team. At the NCAA events, you're just playing to impress college coaches, not win a trophy. His players will get attention just for who they play for, and don't need to have injuries with school and HS team practices starting in a few weeks.
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Why any parent would want their kid to play for a Lavar Ball coached team is beyond me. He may bring attention to your son, but he's an ass in every sense of the word. He's an inflated gas bag with an ego to match. I'm sure scruples is a word he'd have to look up in a dictionary.
Absent Fathers in the black community is a major major major problem in this country. At least Lavar is there......
There are several reasons parents will let their sons play for Big Ballers. One, he gets results. Lonzo and LiAngelo were verballed to UCLA as sophomores. LaMelo was offered by UCLA and verballed at 13. Plus other kids have gone D1 from his program, and that matters. Two, his players are well trained and their practices are grueling to be able to keep up with the pace of play Lavar prefers. Three, a lot of his players play for Chino Hills. It's not unusual for teammates to stick together and play together on a club.
As far a how he acts...I'll refer to a P.T. Barnum quote: "Without promotion, something terrible happens...nothing!". If you haven't noticed, Lonzo doesn't exactly say much. He's a pretty quiet guy. But somehow, he's more hyped than Markelle Fultz, Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, or De'Aaron Fox. Thank Lavar for that one. He's promoted the hell out of his son while also taking the heat off of him, allowing Lonzo to maintain a low profile and just play basketball. He may do the same for LiAngelo, but I doubt it for LaMelo. That kid is a talker to rival his dad and can hold his own. And don't be fooled...all of the Ball brothers are as cocky as Lavar. They just all show it differently.
And as far as the "missing black father" myth...the CDC debunked that myth a couple of years ago. According to their study, black fathers are just as involved as white or latino fathers, and in some cases moreso, whether they live in home with their children or they live elsewhere.
