An Unauthorized Biography of Media Personality & Father of 3 Basketball Players, LaVar Ball
Growing up near Basketball Dad, LaVar Ball, was beyond interesting to teenagerMarissa Mitchell. A quiet, studious girl, she was fascinated by the boisterous man that lived in her neighborhood. Marissa began training with LaVar while his sons were still very young, becoming his first protégé. LaVar put her through the paces, seemingly testing on her the training methods he would one day use on his sons.
LaVar grew up within the inner city of Los Angeles and took part of the hood with him to the city of Chino Hills. There, he raised three amazingly athletic sons. Marissa couldn’t believe she was a part of this dynamic, loving family. After she graduated college and began her teaching career, she reunited with LaVar with the idea to write his biography. Once she was back in the circle, she was tasked with becoming a Jill-of-all-trades for Big Baller Media. During this time, Marissa interviewed LaVar repeatedly, questioning him as to how the Ball brothers ascended to national stardom. She applied for trademarks, set up the company website, corresponded with news outlets, and continued to work on the book. Ultimately, she was unceremoniously fired after attempting to receive compensation for her services and establishing a legitimate contract.
In We Ballin’, Marissa looks back on the wild ride that was the LaVar Ball experience from his early days to his very public Twitter war with Donald Trump and beyond. Through it all, she examines how LaVar was able to harness his sheer determination in preparing his sons for professional basketball and build a company that was intended to become a disrupter in the sports industry.
Her story takes the reader with her as she examines how LaVar Ball was able to succeed, the amazing techniques he used to train his boys to play basketball, and how they all handled the onslaught of publicity that followed them everywhere they went. Was LaVar Ball a calculating businessman, a carnival barker, or something in-between? Marissa was surprised at the things she learned from the man who turned the world of basketball upside-down, including lessons about herself and what’s really important in life.