This past year was the first year of the newest basketball league, known as the Junior Basketball Association (JBA). This league is the brainchild of LaVar Ball and Big Baller Brand, marketed as an alternative to the NCAA for players who wish to continue playing past high school but don’t want to go the route of college.
Ball started this league to give players a way to play professionally right out of high school, and they are eligible to earn between $3,000 and $10,000 each month. This move isn’t the only that he has made to push against the standard one-and-done basketball path, as he is also known for having convinced his son, LaMelo, to leave high school and his son, LiAngelo, to leave UCLA to play in the Lithuanian professional league.
It hasn’t gotten much press yet, but the JBA sits in an interesting spot as the recent investigations into NCAA misconduct, coupled with NBA’s recent G-League salary increases and promises to revisit the 19-year-old age requirement, threaten to place NCAA basketball in a state of flux. It’s impressive that the JBA has even gotten off the ground, yet the immediate returns haven’t been entirely promising.
The league has had trouble attracting big name recruits. LaVar Ball has even had to resort to messaging ESPN 100 recruits on Instagram, inquiring if they want to join the league. It hasn't worked very well, as none out of around 80 recruits that LaVar contacted from the official Big Baller Brand account decided to sign with the JBA. Ball and other team recruiters will, at some point, need to realize that an in-person visit is always be more effective, and competing with the top Div. I coaches who are making these visits, like John Calipari and others, by using Instagram will not produce many recruits.
Yet there are some interesting stories about the players who have decided to sign on. For example, Kezo Brown, a member of the Chicago Ballers — all the teams in the league are named the Ballers, which is awesome — was billed as the next great Simeon Academy (Ill.) player, following in the tradition of Chicago legends Derrick Rose and Jabari Parker. However, after missing his sophomore year of high school due to an undisclosed health issue and his senior year after struggling with his mental health, Brown’s stock dropped dramatically, and he was only able to find a potential college career at Div. I Chicago State. That is where the JBA stepped in and gave him an opportunity to join the league. He tried out, made the team and was playing competitive basketball again, scoring 46 points in his debut game in front of a Chicago home crowd. After his first season with the JBA, Brown has now signed with a professional team in China.
So maybe the JBA has produced its first success story, and only time will tell if it will produce any more or if LaVar will finally get his first Instagram recruit.
Weidner's Words: Around the JBA
