Hall of Fame coach, Nike exec on LaVar Ball: worst thing to happen to basketball in 100 years
Nike sports executive George Raveling, a former head men’s basketball coach at Southern Cal, was asked about LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of soon-to-be NBA lottery pick Lonzo Ball.
Raveling didn’t mince words, speaking at the SportsBusiness Journal World Congress of Sports in Dana Point, CA.
LINK: After startling ‘UCLA White Guy’ comments, LaVar Ball now coaching his son in AAU ball
LINK: Is LaVar Ball becoming the wrong kind of celebrity dad?
He called Ball the “worst thing to happen to basketball in the last 100 years.”
LaVar Ball has made some outrageous statements, saying his son is better than current NBA stars and that he could beat NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in a game of 1-on-1. Given a chance to recant his statements in a radio interview recently, Ball instead doubled-down.
Raveling, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is a former Villanova player (1957-60) who once led Washington State to two NCAA Tournament appearances and coached at Iowa. He was head coach at Southern Cal from 1986-94. Overall, Raveliing is 335-293 and led all three schools to NCAA Tournament berths.
Wow, veteran Nike exec George Raveling on LaVar Ball: “The worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years.” #sbjwcs
— Michael Smith (@SmittySBJSBD) April 20, 2017
This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Hall of Fame coach, Nike exec on LaVar Ball: worst thing to happen to basketball in 100 years."