LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball now have a few games under their belt in Lithuania and they've done well so far, but these "Big Baller Brand Challenge" games are being played against teenagers. Playing against grown men in the Lithuanian (LKL) League is a whole different ball game.
The Ball brothers got a taste of that during BC Vytautas’ loss to Lietkabelis on Saturday. LaMelo and LiAngelo combined to shoot 0-of-7 from the field in less than 15 total minutes of action.
LaMelo has always been pegged as the better prospect, but the 16-year old guard has a whole lot of work to do before he can really compete with the pros overseas.
Virginijus Seskus, the head coach of Prienu Vytautas, recently spoke about LaMelo's discipline during an interview, in which he described LaMelo as an uncontrollable little chipmunk.
Per USA Today's LonzoWire:
“When I watch them in practices, they stand out, especially the little one. You can’t control that little chipmunk,” Seskus said on Lithuanian TV, via a rough translation. “You say, ‘Don’t shoot 40-footers.’ Next thing you know, he’s shooting 40-footers.
“He’s used to doing that stuff. They’re not used to training hard. You need to make them give 100 percent in practices.”
“The older one, LiAngelo, he takes this stuff more serious and he tries to involve his brother,” Seskus said, before adding that he has seen Gelo chiding Melo about listening to the coach.
The coach suggested that while it’s fine for the teenagers to partake in the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games, once those five scrimmages against youth squads have come and gone, “They’ll see that we’re a serious team. They will need to stop playing around.”