Beyond the arc: Follow the bouncing Ball, Big 12 dominance, Free parking

As the Ball bounces

Just when we thought the Ball family situation had calmed, LaVar Ball pulled his son LiAngelo out of UCLA on Monday afternoon. The decision comes less than a month after LiAngelo and three other players were arrested and indefinitely suspended for shoplifting in China. The decision was also made without notifying head coach Steve Alford or any UCLA coach. None of the three suspended players have appeared in a game yet, and there is no timetable for their return to the court.

LaVar apparently is upset because he feels his son is being unjustly punished. He decided he didn’t like the rules society has in place for the acquisition of property. We all know that if you don’t like the rules, then you take your Ball and go...........to Lithuania?

That’s right, it was reported on Tuesday that the Ball brothers, LiAngelo and LaMelo, had been offered deals to join Lithuanian club Lietkabelis. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but according to the report, “...the Ball brothers aren’t concerned about money and don’t consider their salary number as the most important thing, rather their priority is to play on the same team.”

So coming to a court in Lithuania near you will be the bouncing Ball brothers, right? Of course not silly, don’t be ridiculous. You see, the deal was made by General Director Mantas Ignatavicius. Mr. Ignatavicius apparently forgot that he has a head coach to worry about and his name is Arturs Stalbergs. Mr. Stalbergs commented quickly on the situation through a now deleted tweet.

Come on, you can’t make this stuff up. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Big 12 bad boys

The men’s basketball teams of the Big 12 Conference continue to impress both the local and national media. The win for Tech over Nevada was part of a very impressive showing on Tuesday night. ESPN college basketball analyst and self proclaimed hoops junkie Fran Fraschilla tweeted.

As for Tech, the win over Nevada was their second of the year against a top 25 opponent and it moved the home non-conference winning streak to 34 games.

Free parking (ticket) with paid attendance

There are rules basketball fans attending games at the United Supermarkets Arena must follow and if you break those rules then you will be ticketed, no matter how loud you yell in support of the Red Raiders.

One such ticket was given to an unfortunate fan Tuesday night during the home game against Nevada. Never fear, Chris Beard is here. Coach Beard has been outspoken in his appreciation of the fan support, especially from Tech students, during the home games. He apparently demonstrated his appreciation monetarily according to this fans tweet.

Indeed a class act. A word of caution, I wouldn’t get used to this type of free parking.

Lady Raiders

The Lady Raiders basketball team is now mired in a four game losing streak after losses to LSU, Houston, and New Mexico over the past week. Two of the four losses in the streak were by 34 points each. Tech only plays one game over the next week as they take a break for finals. The Lady Raiders will get back to work on Wednesday, Dec. 13 when they host Prairie View A&M.

Big 12 basketball single game tickets

Single game tickets for Big 12 games are now on sale with prices starting as low as $10 for Lady Raider games and beginning at $13 for Red Raider games. Big 12 action begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28 for the Lady Raiders with a matchup against Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders are slated to take on nationally-ranked Baylor at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29.

Fans can purchase basketball tickets online at www.TexasTech.com, in person at the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office located on the East Side of Jones AT&T Stadium, or over the phone at (806) 742-TECH (8324).