Antonio Ballard (born April 30, 1988) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, who lastly played for

ESSM Le Portel Étoile Sportive Saint-Michel Le Portel Côte d'Opale, commonly known as ESSM Le Portel or simply Le Portel, is a professional basketball team based in Le Portel, France. The team currently plays in the LNB Pro A, Pro A, the first tier in France. ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. He played with the Summerside and Island Storm from 2012 to 2014 and was named a

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...

(NBL) All-Star in both seasons. Ballard was also the Most Valuable Player of the

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game. He played

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Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

, where he represented the RedHawks. Michael Stinnett, a coach, commented on him, "He is a versatile small forward who can do a little bit of it all."

Early life

In his childhood, Ballard moved around cities such as

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and areas in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He said that he moved around two to three times each year. Ballard did not know his own father while growing up, and his mother only introduced him when he was nine years old. He told one newspaper, the ''

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'' that two of his other brothers, Corey and BJ, went to jail in 2010 after running away from the police with possession of a gun. Ballard's youngest brother, Ricky, had experience in jail as well. In addition, some of his cousins had been shot or killed. Antonio himself had a gun pointed in his face. The presence of gangs limited the time Ballard could practice basketball. Since many of them were his family members, he was allowed to shoot. He said, "It was rough basketball—kind of like prison ball, I guess. Fights would break out and you had to hold your own, but you couldn't take it too far or something bad would happen." In

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

, there was an old basketball rim, where gangs such as the "Money Hungry Gangsters" would park their cars. Ballard said, "I've taken the good parts of my past life—and one thing you do get from a gang is having each other's back." Antonio Ballard usually hits his chest with 4 fingers when making a shot which is meant for a special someone.

High school career

Ballard did not play

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(AAU) basketball because his family did not have enough money to pay for it. He solely competed at

Jeffersonville High School Jeffersonville High School is a public high school located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 from Jeffersonville, Utica, and sections of Clarksville not covered by that town's own high school. The sc ...

References

External links

Antonio Ballard
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Antonio 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana ESSM Le Portel players Island Storm players Kymis B.C. players Lions de Genève players Lugano Tigers players Miami RedHawks men's basketball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana Union Neuchâtel Basket players Vilpas Vikings players Tadamon Zouk players