UCLA coach Steve Alford 'never had any issues' with LaVar Ball

LaVar Ball’s sway over how his sons are coached could indeed end when they exit high school.

His oldest son, Lonzo, is expected to be a top NBA draft pick next month, leading many to speculate on whether the outspoken father will attempt to interfere with whichever team takes him in the draft. Steve Alford, Lonzo Ball's college coach at UCLA, however, said LaVar Ball wasn’t a distraction in his son’s one-and-done season with the Bruins.

“I think all parents probably should know that moving on to the collegiate level anyway,” Alford told The Los Angeles Times. “Playing time, shots, that kind of stuff — we don’t entertain some of those phone calls anyway. I never had any issues at all with LaVar.”

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LaVar Ball’s actions leading up to the draft — from scaring off shoe companies to launching his own shoe brand to proclaiming his son won’t work out for any NBA team outside the Los Angeles Lakers — may have some NBA executives worried. But officials with the Lakers have said the distractions won't play a role in whether the team selects Lonzo with the second overall pick.

“I’ll talk to them like I’m talking to you,” Alford said when asked what he’d tell NBA clubs about LaVar Ball. “He was terrific. I had no dealings with him at all. He let me coach his son, didn’t get in the way at all.”

That wasn’t the case at the Southern California high school where Lonzo played and his two younger brothers still attend. LaVar Ball's attempt to influence the Chino Hills High boys basketball team was thought to be one of the reasons Steve Baik resigned as coach after he led Chino Hills to a 35-0 record in Lonzo’s senior year.

The coach who replaced Baik, Stephan Gilling, was a constant target of biting remarks by LaVar Ball. Gilling said he felt “relieved” after the school fired him in April. 

PHOTOS: The Ball family