LaVar Ball has announced he will start a basketball league for high school prospects that want to bypass the NCAA.

The Junior Basketball Association will pay players as much as $10,000 per month.

The league would allow high school players to bypass the NCAA to prepare for the NBA.

Ball is looking for 80 players to fill 10 teams that will seek to play at NBA arenas in Los Angeles, Dallas, Brooklyn and Atlanta.

"Getting these players is going to be easy," Ball told ESPN. "This is giving guys a chance to get a jump start on their career, to be seen by pro scouts, and we're going to pay them because someone has to pay these kids."

Ball said he was partly motivated by the comments made earlier in the month by NCAA president Mark Emmert, who was asked at a SportsBusiness Journal conference whether Ball was good or bad for the college game.

"Is this about someone being part of a university and playing basketball or any other sport with that school's jersey on, representing that institution, or is it about preparing me for my career, my professional career as a ballplayer?" Emmert responded. "If it's the latter, you can do that inside a university and that might be a really good way to go. But if you don't want to and you don't think that it's right for your family, then don't come."

"He was right," Ball said. "Those kids who are one-and-done, they shouldn't be there with the NCAA trying to hold them hostage, not allowing them to keep the jersey they wear while selling replicas of them in stores. So our guy isn't going to go to Florida State for a year. He's going to come to our league."

Players will wear Big Baller Brand products.

The logo features a silhouette of Lonzo Ball.

LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball have agreed upon one-year deals with Prienu Vytautas of Lithuania. Both players will report to the team in January.

LiAngelo Ball recently withdrew from UCLA following his indefinite suspension.

Over the past week, Harrison Gaines, the representative for LaMelo and LiAngelo, fielded multiple offers and worked to finalize the finer details of a unique contract situation. 

“We engaged in serious talks with several teams, and Vytautas made the most sense as LaMelo and LiAngelo work to develop as professionals and set a foundation for their careers,” Gaines said. “It was critical to find a situation in a competitive league that works with both of their short- and long-term goals.”

LaMelo Ball and LiAngelo Ball have begun to explore their options in playing professional basketball overseas.

Harrison Gaines, the representative for LaMelo, 16, and LiAngelo, 19, started initial contact with overseas teams this week.

LaMelo Ball had previously committed to UCLA while LiAngelo Ball left the school this week in the wake of his indefinite suspension. 

LaMelo, who left Chino Hills before his junior season this year to be home-schooled, is considered a legitimate pro prospect and a consensus top-10 player in the class of 2019.

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