Andrew Joseph

For The Win

It's been 15 months since LaVar Ball pulled LaMelo Ball out of high school at Chino Hills (California) after a dispute with head coach Dennis Latimore. The move launched LaMelo's stint as a professional in Lithuania and the start-up JBA league before returning to high school at SPIRE Institute (Ohio) in 2018.

But had LaMelo remained at Chino Hills, we could have been looking at one of the best high school careers in California history.

This past weekend, Chino Hills defeated James Logan High, 69-63, to claim its second straight CIF Division I state title under Latimore's leadership. The school had previously played in the CIF Open division with LaMelo, LiAngelo and Lonzo. Five-star prospect and USC commit Onyeka Okongwu led the way for the Huskies in the past two seasons.

On Sunday, LaMelo's high school basketball career came to an end with a 96-94 loss to Bella Vista Prep (Ariz.) in the Grind Session World Championship. LaMelo ended the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Despite being considered a five-star prospect, LaMelo hasn't been recruited by any major college basketball program given his NCAA eligibility concerns. He was also left off the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic rosters. LaVar's Big Baller Brand Game would be LaMelo's lone All-Star appearance.

And that's where LaVar may be asking "what if" about how he handled LaMelo's career. On the court, LaMelo developed into the elite prospect that LaVar continuously talked about, but he'll face uncertainty heading into next year with the G League or a post-grad basketball program being the most likely destinations.

Had he just remained at Chino Hills, LaMelo could be heading to UCLA (or the college of his choice) with a resume that looks something like this:

It's difficult to call LaMelo's senior year a win with that in mind.

Follow For the Win's Andrew Joseph on Twitter @AndyJ0seph.