The Seattle Ballers were a basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
| Seattle Ballers | |||
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| League | JBA | ||
| Founded | 2018 | ||
| History | Seattle Ballers 2018 JBA season | ||
| Location | Seattle, Washington | ||
| Team colours | Green, gold, white | ||
| Head coach | Charles O'Bannon | ||
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History
editThe JBA was first announced on December 20, 2017, when media personality LaVar Ball said to Slam magazine that he would create a professional league _targeted at high school graduates and fully funded by his sports apparel company Big Baller Brand.[1][2] The league held tryouts in Seattle in April 2018, initially selecting only four players onto the Seattle Ballers team.[3] Among them was Semaj Booker, who had previously made national headlines as a runaway child at age nine.[4] During an episode of Ball In The Family, it was revealed that joining alongside Booker were Ismael Muhammad, Joe Saterfield Jr., and Erwin Weary Jr.[5] At its tryout in Houston, Texas at a later date, the league brought in three-star recruit and former Southern Utah commit Jerell Springer to the Seattle Ballers squad.[6] On June 16, 2018, the JBA announced former UCLA basketball player Charles O'Bannon as the Ballers' head coach.
2018 roster
edit| Seattle Ballers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: July 14, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ Calle, Franklyn (December 20, 2017). "LaVar Ball Launches Pro League". SLAM. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Rovell, Darren (December 21, 2017). "LaVar Ball plans to start league for high school graduates". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ Martin, Josh (April 26, 2018). "LaVar Ball's JBA league to reportedly hold more tryouts in Chicago". Lonzo Wire. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- ^ Martin, Josh (April 10, 2018). "This JBA Seattle recruit was a famous runaway, stole car when he was 9". Lonzo Wire. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "'Ball in the Family': Going to LaVar Ball's JBA was LaMelo Ball's idea". 17 June 2018.
- ^ Grimala, Mike (April 22, 2018). "Why this Las Vegas basketball player is skipping college for LaVar Ball's pro league". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 16, 2018.