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).

Houston Ballers
Houston Ballers logo
LeagueJBA
Founded2018
HistoryHouston Ballers
2018 JBA season
LocationHouston, Texas
Team coloursBlue, gold, white
     

History

edit

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.

Current roster

edit
Houston Ballers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
G/F 0   Hollis, Curtis (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 26 – (1998-04-25)25 April 1998
F 1   Handy, Shannon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 181 lb (82 kg)
SG 2   Washington, DeShawn 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 24 – (2000-06-12)12 June 2000
PG 4   Williams, Calvin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 24 – (2000-03-23)23 March 2000
F 10   Lovelace, Nick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 24 – (2000-03-23)23 March 2000
C 14   Allen, Jeremiah 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 26 – (1997-11-27)27 November 1997
SG 23   Myers, Jordon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 26 – (1998-11-19)19 November 1998
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  •   Injured

Updated: June 23, 2018

References

edit
  1. ^ Calle, Franklyn (December 20, 2017). "LaVar Ball Launches Pro League". SLAM. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  2. ^ Rovell, Darren (December 21, 2017). "LaVar Ball plans to start league for high school graduates". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Martin, Josh (April 16, 2018). "LaVar Ball's JBA league lands 14 Big Ballers between Dallas, Houston". Lonzo Wire. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  4. ^ Brian Gosset [@Gosset41] (April 27, 2018). "Former North Crowley standout and 3x district MVP Jordon Myers to join the Houston Ballers of the JBA League" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
edit