ESPN’s Dick Vitale rips LaVar Ball, says UCLA is better off without LiAngelo Ball

The LiAngelo Ball-UCLA saga ended earlier this week with only a few statistics.

Zero: Number of games Ball played.

One: Number of times officials in China suspected Ball of shoplifting

Ball’s father, LaVar, told the Los Angeles Times that UCLA’s suspension for the shoplifting charger was too stringent.

“He might as well be in jail,” LaVar Ball told Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times. “I’m not going to let UCLA take the fire out of my boy by not letting him play for two months. We’re going to do some other options.”

LaVar Ball pulled LiAngelo out of UCLA.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale thinks the news is great ... for the Bruins and coach Steve Alford.

Vitale tweeted: “I told Steve Alford today I don’t know if he realizes it but Santa Claus came early for the @UCLAmbb team with LaVar Ball having his son LiAngelo packing his bags / can u just imagine LaVar’s antics when his son would not get PT ? LiAngelo needed UCLA more than they needed him !”

In another Twitter post, which was a Periscope video, Vitale said that LiAngelo Ball was was the worst offender of the three who were under house arrest in China (Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were the others).

“Mr. Ball was the only youngster of the three to steal from three stores (in China),” Vitale said. “So please, please, when his father says he (Alford) didn’t treat him fairly ... LaVar Ball is all about teaching his kids, ‘if you don’t get your way, quit. Quit. Pack the bags up and go. Blame everybody.’ ”

Vitale also said that LiAngelo Ball has no chance of playing in the NBA.

You can hear all of that here: