LiAngelo Ball had himself a big Tuesday, officially declaring for the NBA Draft and then going off for Vytautas to the tune of 72 points and 11 boards in the Big Baller Brand Challenge.
The Balls have been a bit quiet lately as their Lithuanian endeavor continues, but as NCAA players are declaring in the run-up to the draft, LiAngelo threw his hat in the prospect ring on Tuesday morning. He then took the floor against the Guangdong Southern Tigers youth team and shined in the 159-115 win.
Our friends at Overtime have the highlights in this one, which of course feature a whole lot of LiAngelo and his brother LaMelo setting him up inside — and scoring 36 points of his own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y17GChRM0I&feature=youtu.be
It is important to note here that this game is part of the Big Baller Brand Challenge, an exhibition series set up by the Balls and Vytautas that gives the two more playing time and opportunity against some lesser teams.
Most of the baskets happen on the inside, though the highlights show a bit more of LiAngelo’s range later on in the video. The majority of the points were layups or uncontested dunks in a game that seems to have featured little defense, both based on the score and the highlights we’re seeing here.
As USA Today points out, one of the journalists covering the game called the performance “worthless.”
Actually, terrible game to watch, worthless to play.
— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) March 27, 2018
Either way, LiAngelo matched his career-high from high school on Tuesday. It’s still not enough to beat LaMelo’s 92 he scored last year while playing for Chino Hills.
