Lavar pulls son out of UCLA.

[Gumbo4x4]

Which is why it's completely ridiculous that the sports sideshow has been allowed to co opt our schools and universities in the first place. Are these institutions in the business of education or sports?

And as far as the idea that the sports bring in revenue to the schools, nonsense. The sports consume the funds they bring in.

They’re in the business of making $$

 

[bcla]

They’re in the business of making $$

Some schools claim that it brings in students via the publicity, or perhaps brings in more applicants to the point where they can be more selective. And in certain case they're large money makers, like Alabama.

I remember one local school that's occasionally made waves in the NCAA men's BB tournament - St Mary's College in Moraga, California. They've claimed that the deeper they get into the NCAA Tournament, the more applications they get.

Of course UCLA doesn't really need sports to attract applicants.

I remember when the discussion about remodeling and seismic upgrades to California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley were made (I was a season ticket holder) the talk was that upgraded facilities would lead to better recruitment and more revenue. They made the upgrades (and it looks pretty nice) but these days the football team sucks. Coach was fired, his replacement was fired, and we're rebuilding now. Kind of a far cry from one mistake by a backup QB that killed any chance of being ranked #1. But revenues are down, and they were supposed to pay for the stadium upgrades. Now there's talk about paying off the debt with general funds. The tradeoff would be handing over the track stadium for campus buildings on an extremely crowded campus.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/UC-Berkeley-to-tap-academic-funds-to-help-bail-12330822.php

 

[Sabeking]

Thats freaking hilarious , are you working at any comedy clubs this weekend.

I hope you understand the point of this post. The father only expected him to be at UCLA for one year before moving on to something else that gets him into the NBA somehow.

Glad you got such a laugh; I did get the point of the post and I still think it is sad that anyone would throw away an education. Ha ha?

 

[LSUmiss]

Having personally had a very good look at several major universities over the past eight years demonstrates to me that athletic facilities consistently tend to be updated on a very regular basis, while other school facilities tend to lag far behind. I not only don't believe the funds from athletics benefit the schools at large, I also believe the schools commonly allow the athletic departments to have their cake and eat a chunk of the regular budget as well.

I don’t know much about other universities, but LSU’s athletic dept is completely self-funded. They do not get any $ from the academic side. And, they often give the academic side $ b/c budgets have been cut the past few years.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Glad you got such a laugh; I did get the point of the post and I still think it is sad that anyone would throw away an education. Ha ha?

I understand what you're saying & that would be true for most people. I think the point is free or otherwise, realistic or not, his plan was never to get an education.

 

[chartle]

Glad you got such a laugh; I did get the point of the post and I still think it is sad that anyone would throw away an education. Ha ha?

I understand what you're saying & that would be true for most people. I think the point is free or otherwise, realistic or not, his plan was never to get an education.

Yes he never expected to get any sort of degree. He was going to do his one and done and then magically move on to the NBA.

Though seems like the NBA doesn't want him. So yea I guess he really did throw away an education that he really could have used if he never gets to play pro ball but thats not part of his father's 20 year plan for his family business.

 

[bcla]

Yes he never expected to get any sort of degree. He was going to do his one and done and then magically move on to the NBA.

Though seems like the NBA doesn't want him. So yea I guess he really did throw away an education that he really could have used if he never gets to play pro ball but thats not part of his father's 20 year plan for his family business.

I remember quite a few players who thought they would be one and done, or maybe two and done, but ended up staying a full four years or more.

Of course anyone who understands basketball knew LiAngelo Ball didn't merit that kind of attention. He would have been a role player for UCLA. Nothing wrong with that though. I've seen plenty of originally one-dimensional role players become starters and even conference POY.

 

[chartle]

I remember quite a few players who thought they would be one and done, or maybe two and done, but ended up staying a full four years or more.

Yea but based on the situation there was way too much pressure to "stick with the plan".

 

[Marchand63]

I remember quite a few players who thought they would be one and done, or maybe two and done, but ended up staying a full four years or more.

Of course anyone who understands basketball knew LiAngelo Ball didn't merit that kind of attention. He would have been a role player for UCLA. Nothing wrong with that though. I've seen plenty of originally one-dimensional role players become starters and even conference POY.

That's exactly right LiAngelo just is not as talented as big brother Lonzo. It is unfortunate they have such a donkey for a father. Lonzo is really not turning out to be the prodigy Dad made him out to be - better than Steph Curry And that LiMello is gonna be dragged down by the whole mess as he does have actual talent & had a better shot at NBA. LiAngelo will be playing European ball - good luck with that.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

They’re in the business of making $$

If that were the case, only about 15 schools would keep their athletic departments. And all of them would have cancelled them years ago back when they didn't make money.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If that were the case, only about 15 schools would keep their athletic departments. And all of them would have cancelled them years ago back when they didn't make money.

That’s really impossible to know. If they were to eliminate athletics, what other impact would it have on the school? Would enrollment drop? Would alumni back off on donations?

I mean, one could say that any advertisements the school pays for are “losing money” since there is no direct revenue stream to cover that cost. But, nobody’s suggesting schools eliminate their marketing department.

 

[bcla]

That’s really impossible to know. If they were to eliminate athletics, what other impact would it have on the school? Would enrollment drop? Would alumni back off on donations?

I mean, one could say that any advertisements the school pays for are “losing money” since there is no direct revenue stream to cover that cost. But, nobody’s suggesting schools eliminate their marketing department.

There are surveys and focus groups to determine the effect of various marketing efforts on enrollment, applications, donations, etc. And many schools have determined that dropping sports can affect overall donations. One of the things that is generally required for any broadcast sports is a promotional ad for both schools.

There is a bit of marketing these days that directly targets distance learners. I'm thinking that's a bit easier to correlate with the marketing budget.

And at least with my alma mater, there's this huge disconnect between the sports team nickname and the official name of the school, which complicates marketing efforts. I've heard stories of going to a bowl game and other people were literally asking "where is Cal?" The campus trademark office specifically doesn't want any mixing of the nickname with the official name. The oddest thing I remember was when I was checking out a national college BB message board where there was a basketball player being recruited and where it was down to Michigan, UVa, and Cal. One particular comment (which received lots of responses) was a comparison about the academic reputations of the three schools. That comment (from the best of my memory) was "Well - it's not like Cal is in the academic class of UCLA or UC Berkeley."

 

[soccerdad72]

And their amateur status is now officially over (Lamelo too):

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/lamelo-liangelo-sign-lonzo-agent-174534193.html

I swear, Levar is destroying these boys lives.

 

[bcla]

And their amateur status is now officially over (Lamelo too):

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/lamelo-liangelo-sign-lonzo-agent-174534193.html

I swear, Levar is destroying these boys lives.

Sounds like the idea is that LiAngelo has to be part of a package deal with LaMelo. Not that LaMelo couldn't be a fringe player somewhere in Europe, but it might improve his position.

As a practical matter, I don't see how playing overseas would hurt one's chances to play in the NBA. NBA scouts are all over Europe, and the quality of play is at least up there with NCAA D-I. I don't like LaVar Ball, but as a business decision it does make quite a bit of sense, especially with LaMelo's questionable eligibility.

 

[soccerdad72]

Sounds like the idea is that LiAngelo has to be part of a package deal with LaMelo. Not that LaMelo couldn't be a fringe player somewhere in Europe, but it might improve his position.

As a practical matter, I don't see how playing overseas would hurt one's chances to play in the NBA. NBA scouts are all over Europe, and the quality of play is at least up there with NCAA D-I. I don't like LaVar Ball, but as a business decision it does make quite a bit of sense, especially with LaMelo's questionable eligibility.

Sounds like LiAngelo has always been an add-on. Most sources have stated that the only reason he got a scholarship to UCLA was so they could sign LaMelo when he graduated HS.

There's nothing wrong with a player spending a few years playing in Europe with the hopes of playing in the NBA one day. Problem seems to be, Lavar's overestimating how much interest European clubs will have in LiAngelo (or LiMelo, for that matter).

 

[RangerPooh]

As they are now a package deal, I doubt that too many teams/organizations will be interested in taking on that risk. From what I was reading, even teams in Europe are hesitant to consider them considering the amount of money that would have to go into the limited number of Visa's that each team gets, and the pressure on the coaches.

 

[bcla]

As they are now a package deal, I doubt that too many teams/organizations will be interested in taking on that risk. From what I was reading, even teams in Europe are hesitant to consider them considering the amount of money that would have to go into the limited number of Visa's that each team gets, and the pressure on the coaches.

At this point I’m not sure it would even be about money, but opportunity to play. They might even be able to tap into Lonzo for expenses.

A lot of these European club teams are vertically integrated organizations with everything from clearly amateur youth teams to professional teams. It’s almost like if you combined an AAU program with semipro teams. It’s an interesting developmental system.

It can make for some interesting dealings with the NCAA and their amateurism rules. For years the rule was playing with a paid teammate meant loss of eligibility, although often they’d allow it with a suspension. The whole club system there didn’t exactly mesh with NCAA rules. Players looking to jump to the NBA didn’t have to worry, but those in Europe or elsewhere looking to play college ball do.

 

[Marchand63]

Sounds like LiAngelo has always been an add-on. Most sources have stated that the only reason he got a scholarship to UCLA was so they could sign LaMelo when he graduated HS.

There's nothing wrong with a player spending a few years playing in Europe with the hopes of playing in the NBA one day. Problem seems to be, Lavar's overestimating how much interest European clubs will have in LiAngelo (or LiMelo, for that matter).

I am pretty sure there is/was NBA interest in LiMelo but looks like Donkey is gonna blow his youngest future so LiAngelo can play. I am sure teams will take LiAngelo if LiMelo comes with the deal. Maybe he call collect the sweaty towels off the bench

 

[bcla]

I am pretty sure there is/was NBA interest in LiMelo but looks like Donkey is gonna blow his youngest future so LiAngelo can play. I am sure teams will take LiAngelo if LiMelo comes with the deal. Maybe he call collect the sweaty towels off the bench

Donkey? He looks more like Shrek.

LaMelo was already looking at loss of NCAA eligibility for having his own signature shoe from the family brand.

I don’t like the guy, but this makes sense as a business decision. I also believe that a lot of what he does is some sort of performance art.

 

[Marchand63]

Donkey? He looks more like Shrek.

LaMelo was already looking at loss of NCAA eligibility for having his own signature shoe from the family brand.

I don’t like the guy, but this makes sense as a business decision. I also believe that a lot of what he does is some sort of performance art.

Well donkey is a euphemism for what he really is. Yeah lose your eligibility for about 500 pairs of sneakers sold. Not really a solid business plan.

Nothing this idiot does is performance art. In the long run his kids will suffer, not many teams want that kind of baggage