Yes, you read that right. Chino Hills High School sophomore LaMelo Ball poured in 92 points as his team downed Los Osos 146-123.
LaMelo is the youngest of the three Ball brothers and restarted Chino Hills’ winning streak after their loss to Oak Hill Academy on Saturday. His oldest brother, Lonzo, is a freshman at UCLA and is also one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class; the middle brother, LiAngelo, is a senior and will attend UCLA this fall.
To reach 92, Ball shot 30-of-39 on twos, 7-of-22 on threes and went 11-of-14 from the free throw line, and it’s evident that defense was not much of a factor for either team. A total of 269 points got scored in a 32-minute game, and Ball scored 41 in the fourth alone.
Los Osos Coach Dave Smith wasn’t impressed by Ball’s outing, and Smith called it “a joke,” according to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times.
He said Chino Hills players were fouling on purpose trying to prevent Los Osos from running out the clock and thus deny Ball more points.
“That’s wrong,” Smith said. “It goes against everything CIF stands for. The Ball boys are very talented and great players, but it’s embarrassing to high school athletics. I’ve been coaching for 35 years, and we’ve turned high school athletics into individualism.
“It’s amazing to watch a kid score that many points. But it’s tough to say that’s what CIF athletics is about.”
Even with disinterested defense, cherry picking layups and a meager shooting percentage from downtown, a 92-point outing is still impressive. (Eli Scott also had the quietest triple-double ever with 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists.)
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