LaVar Ball wants to start league for high school graduates

LaVar Ball said Wednesday that he's launching a basketball league for nationally ranked players who have graduated from high school but don't want to go to college.

Ball's Junior Basketball Association, which he says is fully funded by his Big Baller Brand, plans to pay the lowest ranked player a salary of $3,000 a month and the best player $10,000 a month, Ball said. Ball is looking for 80 players to fill 10 teams that will seek to play at NBA arenas in Los Angeles, Dallas, Brooklyn and Atlanta.

"Getting these players is going to be easy," Ball told ESPN. "This is giving guys a chance to get a jumpstart on their career, to be seen by pro scouts, and we're going to pay them because someone has to pay these kids."

Ball said the rules of his league will follow those of the NBA instead of college -- 12 minute quarters and a pro 3-point line.

Ball said he was partly motivated by the comments made earlier in the month by NCAA president Mark Emmert, who was asked at a SportsBusiness Journal conference whether Ball was good or bad for the college game.

"Is this about someone being part of a university and playing basketball or any other sport with that school's jersey on representing that institution or is it about preparing me for my career, my professional career as a ball player," Emmert responded, just a few days after Ball's son LiAngelo left UCLA to turn pro before even playing his first minutes. "If it's the latter, you can do that inside a university and that might be a really good way to go. But if you don't want to and you don't think that it's right for your family then don't come."

"He was right," Ball said. "Those kids who are one and done, they shouldn't be there with the NCAA trying to hold them hostage, not allowing them to keep the jersey they wear while selling replicas of them in stores," Ball said. "So our guy isn't going to go to Florida State for a year. He's going to come to our league."

Ball said since Big Baller Brand is promoting the league, all players must agree to wear only Big Baller Brand products, including BBB shoes on the court.

"We'll give it to them all," Ball said. "They'll be wearing our uniform, our shoes, our T-shirts and our hoodies."

Ball admits there's a lot of work to do to get the league ready. No venues have been rented out and ticket prices haven't been decided. He also doesn't have any players yet -- it won't include LiAngelo and LaMelo, who will be finishing up their first season with Prienai Birstonas Vytautus in Lithuania.

The logo for the league features a silhouette of his son Lonzo, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, going to the hoop for a dunk.

"We don't need a logo of a guy dribbling," Ball said, an obvious reference to the NBA's famous Jerry West silhouette. "Nobody does that any more."