LiAngelo Ball, son of LaVar and brother to Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo and home-schooled younger brother LaMelo, has reportedly been arrested for shoplifting along with two of his UCLA teammates.
According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, Ball and two of his Bruins teammates, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, were arrested on shoplifting charges in China just days before Friday's season-opening game against Georgia Tech in Shanghai. All three are freshmen.
UCLA released the following statement regarding the incident, per ESPN,
"We are aware of a situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou, China. The University is cooperating fully with local authorities on this matter, and we have no further comment at this time."
According to the report players from both teams were questioned as approximately 20 police officers came into the Hyatt Hangzhou around 8 a.m. local time Tuesday to speak with several Georgia Tech and UCLA players. Players were reportedly kept in a room for hours and not allowed to speak to any coaches.
"They weren't messing around," the source told ESPN. "The kids were scared."
Georgia Tech players were finally allowed to leave the room hours later, while the three UCLA players were seen getting into a police vehicle around 1 p.m. local time.
Other details regarding the arrest, including what the three UCLA players are accused of stealing, are still unclear.
While LiAngelo Ball is the most well known of the three arrested players, Hill and Riley are both consensus top 100 recruits who were part of a UCLA recruiting class ranked among the top five nationally. Heading into the season, the UCLA Bruins rank 21st in the AP Top-25 Poll.
