CHICAGO - When my son told me about a kid who scored 92 points in a high school game in California last February 2017, I immediately had a keyboard reaction and hopped on YouTube.
The highlights were impressive.
The wiry teenager, who had a mop of dyed blond hair and was elusive as an eel, dropped 41 points in the fourth quarter alone and proved to be quite a scoring machine.
But a forensic accounting of his percentages weren't all that jazz. Although he did sink 37 of 61 shots overall, he went just 7-of-22 from 3, a 31.8 percent clip. His free throw shooting was good, 11 of 14, but not solid at 78 percent.
And because he was more like "playing around" than playing hard, and that he was careless with the ball and seemed allergic to defense, I thought his game won't translate in the NBA.
I turned out to be so wrong about him I want to punch myself in the face.
That kid is now 19 years and 209 days old. He has since sprouted to 6-foot-6 in length and has packed some meat to bulk his frame up to 180 pounds,
Meet LaMelo Ball.
He is my pick to win the 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year award. Head and shoulders above anyone else.
Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tyrese Haliburton of the Sacramento Kings, Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks and James Wiseman of the Golden State Warriors all merit consideration.
But none of them wield LaMelo's must-see TV charm and allure, not to mention the fact that their teams' combined won-lost record is 68-96 compared to the 20-20 mark of Ball's Charlotte Hornets.
A triple-double threat each time he steps on the floor, Ball is averaging 16 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists through 40 games.
He is shooting 45.3 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from 3 and 80 percent from the free throw stripe.
Most importantly, his presence has translated into wins as the Charlotte Hornets are ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference and are legitimate playoff contenders who also parade veterans Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier in their lineup.
"He exceeded our expectations," Hornets team owner Michael Jordan said of the No.3 pick of this year's draft class.
LAMELO OVERCAME MY LOW-BALLED PROJECTIONS.
His court vision had always been excellent but I didn't know he could elevate his passing skills into a world-class act. And he has grown mentally as much as he has physically. You see it on the court and at press conferences and interviews where he deals with the media with the ease of a veteran.
He used to hurl circus-type 3s in high school and his stints overseas in Lithuania and Australia were marred with tepid plays on defense and carelessness on offense.
Not here in the NBA, where he is more measured and dedicated on both ends of the floor.
LaMelo has 114 turnovers so far, a rate of 2.8 a game. And while that is dangerously high, it's bound to decrease as his maturity continues to evolve. It's not a case of butter in his fingers, more like an overdose of enthusiasm that will be tamed as time goes by.
"He's a winner," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters recently.
Indeed.
And that's why the trophy engraver better start working on putting Ball's name in the ROY trophy.
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