NCAA Basketball: UCLA Bruins’ Lonzo Ball to take nation by storm

Lonzo Ball is expected to take NCAA basketball by storm with his passing ability.

We all have favorite teams and we follow them relentlessly. No matter the results, we continue to bleed their universal colors year round and our allegiances never waiver when it comes to our #Squad.

Related Story: Don't miss Edrice 'Bam' Adebayo on the NCAA basketball court

But often for fans, their college basketball fandom starts and ends with their favorite university. There is so much basketball on at any given time that it could be overwhelming.

Well folks, I’m here to help with that. For the rest of the off-season, I will contrive a list of players that are can’t miss, Vine-approved, text-your-buddies-in-all-caps, show stopping phenomenons that you must follow when your favorite team is resting in their cozy dorm rooms. Our first member was Kentucky’s Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo. You should really seek him out on ESPN this winter.

Our second Person of Interest, well, you’re going to have to stay up late for.

I remember when I first laid eyes on UCLA’s incoming freshman, Lonzo Ball. I was covering the McDonald’s All-American game (from my couch), with every intention of writing about Bam Adebayo, Frank Jackson and Josh Jackson.

Before the tip-off of that game, I didn’t know much about the No. 4 ranked ESPN recruit in the 2016 class. But once the game started rolling, I’m not sure anyone captured my imagination more:

Now, some of you are probably going to think that my annoying grunting commentary in those videos was because of the dunks. I’m here to clear the air and tell you it wasn’t. What made me turn into a disappointed grandmother watching her child try to discipline her babies, were the passes that Ball made to lead up to the finishes. There aren’t many kids in college basketball — let alone in the glorified YMCA pick up game that is the #McDAAG — that dazzle you strictly based on their passing ability.

But Ball did. Ball does.

He finished the #McDAAG with a game leading 13 assists on one turnover. Read that line again. My man had 13-assists in an All-Star game. When’s the last time you flipped on ESPNU and saw an 18-year old pad their stats with rebounds and assists over points and Vine-worthy dunks?

Has it ever happened before this?

Needless to say, I bought all of the remaining stock of Lonzo Ball that I could get my hands on that night. And any little bit that makes it way back into the market, I’m buying that up too.

Ball has that playmaking ability that made Steve Nash so much to fun to watch all of those years in Phoenix. Sure, he can score (HE AVERAGED A TRIPLE-DOUBLE FOR HIS SENIOR SEASON) and do it with pizazz too, but it’s not necessarily the reason why I’m tuning in. The shooting and the lay-ups and the dunking are all just added bonuses:

The real reason I’m staying up late to watch as many UCLA games, is to watch the best passer in college basketball (at any age level) make defenses look silly. I want to see him do things with the basketball that I didn’t think were possible. I want to watch him bait help side defenders with his dribble drives only to then quickly flick his wrist and throw a no look pass to a cutting big man for the hardest, wide open dunk you’ll ever see.

I want to watch Ball throw Kevin Love-esque full court passes to break away small forwards. I want to watch the 6’5″ true point guard flirt with triple-doubles in both the non-conference and Pac-12 play.

Watching a guy like him for basketball junkies IS happiness.

If you didn’t click play on that video, I implore you to at least fast forward to 1:52 mark and watch the last minute where you will see an almost out-of-bounds, under-the-leg save that leads to a three pointer. Two no-look, one handed dimes. Two blocks. A couple of three’s in the step back variety.

AND… one of the filthiest, break your ankles, head, shoulders, knees and toes cross overs you might ever see.

Now I know that I get excited in a lot of these posts — it’s kind of my thing — but I honestly mean it when I say that Ball might just be the most creative visionary that we will see in the college ranks in the next several years.

Next: VCU off-season question marks

And I beg of you, don’t miss out…he won’t be here long.