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ESPN Staff Writer- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
LaVar Ball plans on pulling his son, LaMelo, out of Chino Hills High School and will home-school him for LaMelo's final two years before college.
"I'm not dealing with the coach over there," LaVar told ESPN. "I'm not dealing with the administration over there. I don't want no distractions on Melo. So therefore I'm going to home-school him and make him the best basketball player ever."
Chino Hills hired Dennis Latimore as its new head coach in May, replacing Stephan Gilling, who was the head coach for one season. Gilling replaced Steve Baik after the 2015-16 season, with Baik stepping down despite Chino Hills having an unbeaten season. Latimore played basketball at Arizona and Notre Dame.
LaMelo said Monday was his last day at Chino Hills, but is excited about this change in his scholastic life, "because I can spend all my time now and dedication into it instead of going to school and doing book work," LaMelo Ball told ESPN.
LaMelo, like Lonzo and LiAngelo before him, plays AAU basketball for the Big Ballers, coached by LaVar. They played mostly an independent schedule in the spring and summer, but also made an appearance in the Adidas Uprising Summer Championships in Las Vegas in July.
"It's a new coach and I don't like him one bit," LaVar said of Latimore. "[LaMelo]'s on track for UCLA, but he doesn't have to be dealing with those knuckleheads. I'm not letting them mess with his head anymore. You can put that on the principal and the coach over there.
"That coach has his own frame of mind on how he wants to play and who he picks in the team. OK, y'all got all that going on, let's see how you do without my tutelage. Without me training those players at my house. It seems like anybody who's training over here, that coach don't want him in the team."
LaMelo, 16, is committed to UCLA for the 2019 class. He's ranked No. 7 in the ESPN 60.
"The coach made a comment the other day. He said, 'all those 50 shots a game, that's going to stop.' So I'm like, 'Wow,'" LaVar said. "And every kid he talks to, he asks which AAU program they play for and as soon as they mention my name, he goes the other way.
"I'm not going to put my son through all that."
LaMelo said he's not worried about missing out on traditional high school life and not going to school with his friends.
"They're going to come to the house and train with me anyways," LaMelo said.
Latimore and Chino Hills athletic director Sam Sabbara did not respond to a request for comment.