How UConn’s Solo Ball turned real name into best nickname in March Madness originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Solo Ball has the best nickname in March Madness.
He’s going to try and lead the UConn Huskies back to the promised land, and he’s going to be doing it with a name that sounds like it’s straight out of Hollywood.
Ball has the game to match his name, too.
This season, he’s averaging 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists assists per game.
He’s actually had a down year from beyond the arc, 29.2% to lower his career average to 34.8%.
But when he gets hot, he can lead UConn past anyone. They’ll be hoping that happens early and often in March.
And if Solo does his thing, everyone will want to know what the scoop is with his name.
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Solo Ball was born Solomon Ball.
According to the Hartford Courant, Ball sometimes got made fun of for his last name in elementary school.
But by the time he was in high school, and was going by Solo Ball full time, he realized he had something cool on his hands.
“I didn’t really notice until like my freshman, sophomore year (of high school) how much the name really flows,” Ball said. “I feel like I grew into the name a little bit, so I think that’s kind of cool about it.”
Hardly anyone calls Ball “Solomon” now.
“When people call me Solomon it just throws me off. Like, my mom doesn’t even really call me Solomon, it’s only when she’s mad, really,” Ball told the Courant. “Or really like my close family, like my grandma calls me Solomon and my aunts, but nothing really past that. So whenever I hear it, it’s just kind of weird.”
His name is already a well known one in the college basketball world. And if Ball can light it up in March, it’ll have some bright lights shining on it.
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