Arizona Transfer Oumar Ballo Plans to Visit Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The college basketball recruiting dead period extends through Thursday, and Indiana will host several visitors once it's over.

Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo plans to visit Indiana April 14-16, according to On3's Joe Tipton. Indiana is Ballo's first visit, followed by Louisville from April 16-18 and Kansas State from April 19-21. He also plans to visit North Carolina and Florida at some point.

In addition to Ballo, Indiana also has visits planned in April with Minnesota transfer Pharrel Payne, Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle, Drexel transfer Amari Williams and Bradley transfer Connor Hickman.

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

Ballo helped Arizona defeat Indiana 89-75 on Dec. 10 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 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.

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, would provide a strong interior presence and veteran experience. He's an efficient scorer inside, and he's adept at both rebounding and shot blocking.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson still has six open scholarships heading into the 2024-25 season.

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