According to LaVar Ball, the reason UCLA did not win the NCAA men’s basketball championship this year is simple: too many white players.
Ball, whose son Lonzo starred for the Bruins as a freshman this past season and has declared for the NBA Draft, made the claim in an interview with the Southern California News Group. He said that, along with a hamstring injury limiting Lonzo’s effectiveness, having three white players hurt UCLA in its Sweet 16 game against Kentucky 86-75.
“Realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow,” Ball said. “I told Lonzo, ‘One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.’ It turned out that was the one game.”
Ball was apparently referring to starters Bryce Alford, T.J. Leaf and Thomas Welsh. Leaf, a freshman, also declared for the draft and is a projected first-round pick, while Alford holds the school record for career three-pointers.
Leaf and Alford tallied 17 and 13 points, respectively, in the tournament loss to Kentucky. Lonzo Ball only managed 10 points, far below the 30 or 40 his father deemed necessary to win in spite of white players.
LaVar Ball has made a habit of making outlandish statements during Lonzo’s one-year stint at UCLA. He said his sons are worth a $1 billion shoe deal, claimed Lonzo is better than Steph Curry and said he could beat Michael Jordan one-on-one in Jordan’s prime.
With Lonzo entering the NBA and younger brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo already verbally committed to UCLA, the basketball world may be hearing outrageous comments from LaVar for years to come.