LaVar Ball isn’t having much luck recruiting players to the basketball league he’s trying to launch.
Ball, whose recruiting tactics for the Junior Basketball Association have included sliding into the DMs of high schoolers bound for top college programs, has been declined by 21 players so far, SB Nation reported, citing Tipton Edits. Two of the 80 players Ball has reached out to are considering joining the JBA, but none have accepted the offer.
"You are one of the few talented athletes that we are inviting to change history with us & be part of the @jba," Ball has written athletes. "Let us know who we should get in contact with to further discuss details and specifics of the league. Thank you and we are excited to hear back from you and your family."
Here are a few of Ball’s DM-based recruiting efforts, via Tipton Edits. Notice that in his direct message to Jairus Hamilton, Ball misspelled the Boston College recruit’s name.
Ball and his Big Baller Brand are promising to pay players $3,000 to $10,000 a month to compete in the JBA. Arizona commit Brandon Williams said he’s considering the opportunity and that he’s keeping his options open. USC commit Elijah Weaver hasn’t turned down the offer yet, either.
Here’s a small sample of the long list of athletes who are not planning to forego their college commitments to play in the JBA, in addition to Herro and Hamilton:
–Jalen Carey (Syracuse)
–Simi Shittu (Vanderbilt)
–David Singleton II (Michigan State)
–Gabe Brown (Michigan State)
As Bleacher Report suggests, DMing athletes amounts to taking the easy way out to land recruits. Ball is likely going to have to hit the pavement and knock on doors to see a spike in his success rate.
