Trillian harris5/25/2023 ![]() was never the first, second, or third option,” says Romar. “The Ball brothers, his cousins, were the focus. Romar saw a late bloomer whose development in high school was hindered by injuries as well as the challenge of being overshadowed by his cousins. “It took me about 10 seconds to realize his talent,” says Romar, who offered Dre a scholarship right after the game. ![]() Romar traveled to Long Beach and watched as Dre scored 32 points to lead Chino Hills to a win in the regional finals of the California Division I playoffs. Dre had received little interest from Division I programs, making him the kind of recruit Romar was looking for as he set out to revive his struggling program: a diamond in the rough with the potential to blossom in the relatively small West Coast Conference. Romar, of course, was familiar with Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo Ball, the three brothers who were standout recruits at Chino Hills, and their father, LaVar Ball, but he was unaware that the brothers had a cousin, Dre, playing in relative obscurity and unattached to the family business of the Big Baller Brand. Dre Ball, a bouncy, athletic, 6-foot-7 wing, high on potential but raw in his development, was experiencing a breakout senior season at Chino Hills High School, 60 miles east of Pepperdine’s campus in Malibu, California. Lorenzo Romar was barely a week into his new job as men’s head basketball coach at Pepperdine University last March when he started receiving phone calls about a potential recruit.
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