LaMelo Ball Returning To High School Play, Ohio’s Spire Institute: “Basketball Is The Furthest Thing From His Mind”

LaMelo Ball is returning to high school after playing professionally in Lithuania. It’s a move that his new school, The Spire Institute in Ohio, said was made when “basketball is the furthest thing from his mind.” The former Top 100 recruit told Slam Magazine he’s returning to the U.S. and landing in Geneva, Ohio. He’s going to try and regain the public spotlight that dried up when he tried to play for BC Vytautas with his NBA-reject brother, LiAngelo Ball.

LaMelo Ball back playing in high school

LiAngelo has also told NBA G-league teams that he plans to enter into the pool of players that they can sign. He committed to UCLA but left the team after one preseason game when he was caught stealing in China. He then entered the NBA Draft and was skipped over 60 times. He did all this while creating a new stat, “The LiAngelo” when a player records zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, and one steal.

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The Spire Institute markets itself as a school meant for athletes who want to take their game to the next level. They focus on swimming, track and field and basketball. They’ve also got some really interesting athletes playing alongside Ball, including 15-year-old 7-foot-7 Robert Bobroczkyi and Michigan commit Rocket Watts. LaMelo has to succeed here if he ever wants to make it to the NBA. By going overseas and signing an agent, he forfeited his NCAA eligibility.

Associate academy director Justin Brantley told ESPN that Ball was never compensated or paid for playing in Lithuania or his father’s JBA, making him eligible to play this season.