Indiana Lands Arizona Transfer Oumar Ballo, Top-Ranked Player in Portal

After two consecutive first team All-Pac-12 seasons at Arizona, 7-foot center Oumar Ballo announced he’s transferring to Indiana for his final season of eligibility.

Author:
Jack Ankony
Apr 16, 2024

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coach Mike Woodson reinforced Indiana’s front court on Tuesday, landing Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo fresh off his visit to Bloomington.

Hoosier Nation, c’est parti.
🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/veYgjwSXuN
— Oumar Ballo (@OumarBallo32) April 16, 2024

Ballo is a 7-foot center with one year of remaining eligibility. He’s currently ranked No. 1 among all players in the transfer portal, according to 247 Sports.

Ballo is Indiana’s second transfer addition of the offseason and third newcomer overall, joining five-star freshman Bryson Tucker and Washington State transfer guard Myles Rice. Woodson now has four open scholarships heading into the 2024-25 season.

As a senior in 2023-24, he averaged 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while starting all 36 games and logging 26 minutes per game. He shot 65.8% from the field, with all of his attempts coming from 2-point range, and 49.5% from the free throw line.

Indiana returns starting power forward Malik Reneau, but it has plenty of available minutes in the front court after losing starting center Kel'el Ware and backup bigs Anthony Walker and Payton Sparks. Ballo, one of the best players in the Pac-12 the last two seasons, should provide a strong interior presence and veteran experience. He's an efficient scorer inside, and he's adept at both rebounding and shot blocking.

Ballo began his career with two seasons at Gonzaga, then followed former Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd to Arizona when he became the head coach. Ballo is originally from Koulikoro, Mali, and attended NBA Academy Latin America in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He committed to Gonzaga as a four-star recruit, ranked No. 78 in the class of 2019.

Ballo helped Arizona defeat Indiana 89-75 on Dec. 10, 2022, in Las Vegas, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He also helped limit Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis to just 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting in that game, tied for his second-fewest points of the season. Ballo was ultimately named to the All-Pac-12 first team and Pac-12 All-Defensive team.

He averaged a career-high 14.2 points per game as a junior at Arizona in 2022-23. He was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player and earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 first team. Ballo added 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, again shooting an efficient 64.7% from the field but just 56.5% at the free throw line.

Ballo transferred from Gonzaga to Arizona before the 2021-22 season. Playing 15.2 minutes per game off the bench, he averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 62.2% from the field and a career-high 70.2% from the field.

Ballo stayed healthy throughout his Arizona career, playing in all 108 games across three seasons. He helped the Wildcats win two Pac-12 championships and earn a No. 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, followed by No. 2 seeds in both 2023 and 2024. However, Arizona never made it past the Sweet 16 in that stretch.

Ballo played sparingly for Gonzaga, just 6.3 minutes per game in 24 appearances during the 2020-21 season. He redshirted the 2019-20 season and still has one year of eligibility due to COVID-19 despite having spent five years in college already.

Here’s a look at Indiana’s 2024-25 roster after the addition of Ballo.