LaMelo Ball Scores 30 in Spire Institute's Win at The Skill Factory Tournament
November 25, 2018
LaMelo Ball posted a dominant 30-point outing on Saturday as Spire Institute defeated TSF Gold, 109-80, in The Skill Factory Holiday Invitational in Atlanta.
Overtime provided highlights on Ball's evening:
Ball's best moment was arguably a putback slam in the third quarter:
Ball's performance capped a successful holiday weekend for him and his team. On Friday, Spire defeated Tennessee Prep, 97-81, in its first game at the tournament. Ball had 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting with nine assists and four rebounds.
Per Ben Axelrod of WKYC, the 17-year-old Ball is interested in playing in college basketball's top tier, with North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Michigan State on his list.
However, Ball has an uphill battle to become eligible to play on the NCAA level, as he hired an agent and played eight professional basketball games for BC Prienai-Skycop, a Lithuanian team.
Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated did a thorough breakdown of the situation, noting that "pursuing NCAA basketball seems like an onerous path" given the eligibility challenge. As McCann noted, Ball can also look to sign a "select contract" with an NBA G League team.
Regardless of whether Ball plays college basketball, he's clearly showcased some skills over the last few days that could foreshadow a successful professional career.
Spire, which is located in Geneva, Ohio, will face Shipley out of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET, per MaxPreps.