By Sam Perley
LaMelo Ball Opens Up on NBL Experience Last Season, Overall Global Exposure
Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball holds a lot of great memories from playing in Australia last season, whether it was the games, the crowds or the community. But one of his strangest recollections from his time Down Under had absolutely nothing to do with basketball whatsoever.
“Definitely the insects. I’m not messing with the insects at all,” he said jokingly. “Here’s a story: my friend opened his car door once and I was playing around and told him he had a spider on his car. Then I looked closer and was like ‘Oh wow,’ it’s like this big,” Ball explained, as he used his hands to make a circle the size of a softball to properly describe the Huntsman’s dimensions.
Bugs aside, Ball speaks fondly of his time suiting up for the Illawarra Hawks (now rebranded simply as ‘The Hawks’) as part of the National Basketball League’s Next Stars development program, which also included now Denver Nuggets rookie RJ Hampton.
“Whenever a community takes you in like that, it’s great,” Ball said. “The fans were amazing. It’s a nice environment. It really gets packed out. The crowd is all into it, cheering and stuff. I stay in contact with them whenever something comes up. With like the draft, everybody hit me up from back home and from back in Australia. It’s all cool, all love always.”
The 19-year-old pinpointed a 114-106 overtime home win over the Cairns Taipans on Nov. 25, 2019 as his favorite on-court moment with Illawarra. His game-tying, catch-and-shoot three-pointer at the end of regulation sent the Hawks faithful into a frenzy as he triple-doubled, while notching season highs in scoring (32 points) and assists (13).
Ball has been on a global journey over the last few years that also included a stop in Prienai, Lithuania, a location he playfully describes as, “literally just a hotel. If you looked left, right, straight and then looked back, it was just snow.” Exposure to different environments and working with players of varying nationalities and backgrounds has given him great perspective on not only life in the NBA, but the world as well, he says.
“I feel like the whole experience helped me just with traveling and how the league is going to be. Getting my body right with the physical training also helped. I learned the world is different all around. Going overseas, you see so much stuff you wouldn’t have even known had happened. It just helps with everything. Give back, help, see others grow.”
The NBA Draft’s reigning third overall pick has seen and done a lot already in his young basketball career, and the Hornets hope the best is surely still yet to come in Charlotte.
How Tennis Helped Hayward’s Physical, Mental Approach to Basketball
It’s been years since Hornets forward Gordon Hayward diverted his primary athletic focus from tennis to basketball. And while the former two-time all-state high school player hasn’t picked up a racquet on a competitive basis in quite some time, he’s still reaping the benefits of his time on a very different kind of court.
“I started playing tennis when I was five years old,” he said. “I played every sport you could play until junior high and then I had to start picking a couple because there were conflicts in seasons. I’m a big proponent of playing all sports when you’re growing up. I think they all help you from a competitiveness standpoint to a movement standpoint. Certainty with tennis, you get the lateral quickness more than anything.”
Tennis matches can last for hours and require tremendous physical endurance and mental fortitude. Unlike team sports or even some other individual sports, tennis players generally own everything in a competition – the good and the bad – and with no finite time limit, they have to stay locked in up until the very last point is recorded.
“Tennis is a great game, a great sport because you’re out there by yourself, so you have to move on to the next point, next game, next set, whatever,” he added. “It’s the same thing in basketball. If you miss a shot, you move onto the next one. If you turn it over, you move onto the next play. That certainly helped me.”
Hayward hasn’t played much tennis since winning a local tournament during his Utah days, although sounds like he’s open to possibly taking on any potential challengers in the offseason.
“[Assistant coach] Ron [Nored] was talking smack, but I’m not really worried about him at all,” Hayward said, referencing his former college roommate. “It’s a sport that you have to have somebody else to play with you. I’m pretty dangerous in the tennis game.”
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December 14, 2020 at 12:25AM
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Ball Reflects on Life in Australia, Hayward Talks Tennis Influence on Basketball - Brooklynnets.com
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