One of the benefits of LaMelo Ball’s time in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks was the valuable experience of playing with fellow professionals. Having one or more mentors, particularly at Ball’s age, can prove vital in the development of prospects.
But one specific player stood out above the rest as a great potential mentor for Ball. Aaron Brooks, a long-time former point guard in the NBA, signed with the Hawks before Ball. While he only played half a season in Illawarra before suffering a torn Achilles, it was more than enough time for Brooks to admit he was wrong about his idea of what Ball was.
In an interview with TMZ, Brooks admitted that his preconceived notion of Ball led to him not wanting to be teammates with the 18-year old.
“I signed with Illawarra before I even knew he was going to be there. I know it came out the opposite way. For me, when I found out he was going to be there, I was like ‘Look, I don’t want to go through that.’ I come from the old school of being with Dikembe Mutombo and Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Now I’m playing with 18-year old, Kardashian kid. That’s what I was kind of (thinking)…I was like ‘Alright, I just want to play basketball.’”
However, Ball quickly endeared himself not just to Brooks but to the team as a whole. His low-profile personality and work ethic left a lasting mark on Brooks, who admitted to being wrong about the youngest Ball sibling.
“What surprised me is he was just like a real cool kid. I would have never known he had that many followers (on social media) unless we went out because he was just one of the guys. He had a roommate just like everybody else. He traveled with the team like everybody else. He was just one of the regular guys. When I said we needed to go get some extra work in, he was ready to go get some extra work in. When we had extra running to do, he did extra running. At 18, when I say there’s guy that got drafted in Houston and they were rookies and they were 21 and had less accolades than him and were bigger assholes, for him to be the way he was was surprising to me. Just a good kid, man.”
Ball’s work ethic is something that Hawks head coach Matt Flinn noted quickly on after having Ball join the team. And, similar to Brooks, Flinn seemed surprised by Ball given what the narrative surrounding him is.
Still, though, many see Ball as a Kardashian-esque figure with a ton of popularity and a work ethic that doesn’t match. It’ll be another narrative he’ll likely have to break once entering the league as Ball continues to disprove the Kardashian-based notion.