| Houston Ballers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| League | JBA | ||
| Founded | 2018 | ||
| History | Houston Ballers 2018 JBA season | ||
| Location | Houston, Texas | ||
| Team colours | Blue, gold, white | ||
The Houston Ballers were a basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The JBA was first announced on December 20, 2017, when media personality LaVar Ball said to Slam magazine that he would create a professional league targeted at high school graduates and fully funded by his sports apparel company Big Baller Brand. [1] [2] The league held tryouts in Texas in April 2018, selecting a total of 14 players in Dallas and Houston for JBA rosters. [3] One addition to the Houston Ballers roster was Jordon Myers, a former star guard and three-star recruit out of North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas. [4] However, their star player would be Curtis Hollis, a multi-athlete that played basketball and football, even originally receiving scholarships for North Texas University's football team before declining and electing to focus on basketball.
| Houston Ballers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: June 23, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LaMelo LaFrance Ball is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. Ball was voted the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and named an NBA All-Star the following season in 2022.
LiAngelo Robert Ball is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Ball played for Chino Hills High School in California, where he won a state championship and achieved national success as a junior with his brothers Lonzo and LaMelo, who are both current NBA guards. A three-star recruit and UCLA signee, he decided to forgo college basketball after being suspended for shoplifting in China before the 2017–18 season. In turn, Ball signed with Lithuanian professional team Prienai. He later played in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league founded by his father, before joining the G League at the end of 2019–20. He was briefly signed to the Detroit Pistons in late 2020, but was waived prior to the start of the 2020–21 season. Ball joined the Greensboro Swarm in 2021.
Big Baller Brand (BBB) is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells clothing and shoes. Launched in 2016 by Alan Foster and LaVar Ball, it has most notably produced signature shoes for the Ball brothers—basketball players Lonzo Ball, LaMelo Ball, and LiAngelo Ball. Big Baller Brand has additionally been involved in the creation of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), which it fully funded, and both the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games and Big Baller Brand International Tournament, which were a series of Lithuanian exhibition games hosted by BC Vytautas.
The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The league was first announced in December 2017 by LaVar Ball and was said to be fully funded by Ball's sports apparel company, Big Baller Brand. The JBA existed for just one season in 2018, featuring eight teams from major US cities.
Semaj Booker is an American basketball player and former runaway child from Lakewood, Washington. He gained national attention in 2007, at age nine, for escaping from his home in Lakewood to San Antonio, Texas on his own, traveling by car as a driver and by airplane as a passenger. Booker grew up to become a standout high school basketball player, attending four different schools, including Curtis Senior High School and Clover Park High School. He most recently played for the Seattle Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA).
Marquis "Kezo" Brown Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Angels of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He competed for Simeon Career Academy in his hometown of Chicago, where he was a three-star recruit and one of the top high school players in Illinois from his freshman year. Despite being sidelined and hospitalized with mental health issues in multiple seasons at Simeon, he continued drawing interest from Chicago State, eventually committing to play for them at the NCAA Division I level. However, Brown later dropped his college plans, instead turning professional with the Chicago Ballers in the Junior Basketball Association. Brown was shot five times during an altercation in Chicago in March 2019.
Gregory Floyd Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA). He played for three different schools at the high school level, emerging as a four-star recruit and one of the top-ranked prospects in Nevada while at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas. Despite receiving several NCAA Division I offers, he was considered academically ineligible after his grades plummeted due to the death of his sister, continuing his career at Antelope Valley College before moving to the JBA.
The Chicago Ballers were a basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The 2018 JBA season was the only season of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), an American men's professional basketball league. The JBA was designed as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The season began on June 21 and concluded with the JBA Finals on August 12, 2018. After the season concluded, the JBA selected many of its top players to take part in what was originally a 28-game international season against teams from various countries in Europe and Asia. However, an incident in Lithuania lead to a shortening of the event, with teams dropping out of matches and Asian teams cancelling their matches for late 2018 and early 2019 altogether.
Jerell Dwayne Springer is an American basketball player for BC Kavkasia of the Georgia A League. Standing 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and weighing 180 pounds (81.6 kg), he was a top prospect in Nevada at the high school level, attending Shadow Ridge and Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas. Although his senior season at the latter school was beset by eligibility issues, he was a three-star recruit and committed to play college basketball for Southern Utah. However, he chose to not enroll and later decided to join the JBA.
The Seattle Ballers were a basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Los Angeles Ballers were a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They won the championship for the league's only 2018 season.
The Atlanta Ballers were a basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The New York Ballers were a basketball team based in New York City, New York. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Dallas Ballers were a basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Philadelphia Ballers were a basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Harrison Joseph Rieger is an American professional basketball player for Brujos Izalca of the Liga Superior de Baloncesto de El Salvador. He competed for Moorestown High School and Camden County College. In 2018, he joined the Chicago Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association
Curtis Melvin Hollis is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for JBC. He played one season for Hutchinson Community College. In 2018, he played for the Houston Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA).
Deon Jay Lyle is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Cloud CC Thunderbirds and the UTSA Roadrunners. In 2018, he played for the Chicago Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA).
JaMichael Morgan is an American professional basketball player who last played for KB Peja of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague. He competed for Blue Valley Northwest High School and Link Year Prep. In 2018, he joined the Seattle Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association
