BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana has landed one of the top transfers available in this offseason's portal.
Arizona transfer big man Oumar Ballo, the native of Mali, pledged his commitment to Indiana on Tuesday.
Ballo finished his official visit to Indiana over the weekend, and there was noise about a potential visit to Arkansas after his Louisville visit was cancelled. Now, the top-rated transfer joins Washington State guard Myles Rice as impact additions out of the transfer portal this offseason for the Hoosiers.
Ballo has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.
Indiana will be the third different team for Ballo throughout his extensive college basketball career. And the fit makes sense – he's the defensive-minded big that will follow in the footsteps of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel'el Ware: two centers who experienced success in the Hoosiers' system and are thriving at the NBA level (in the case of Jackson-Davis) or eying a similar trajectory (in the case of Ware).
Ware's departure following this season left a hole in the starting frontcourt that Ballo can now plug, and the focus of the frontcourt can now turn to adding depth behind the frontline.
The 7-footer spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Spokane, Washington with Gonzaga. Ballo redshirted his first year with the Bulldogs, prior to appearing in 24 games off the bench in his second year with Gonzaga in which he scored 2.5 points in 6.3 minutes a night.
After two seasons with Gonzaga, Ballo took his talents to Arizona to play under Tommy Lloyd. Ballo, a five-star recruit coming out of the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City, would spend his next three collegiate seasons with the Wildcats.
In his first season in Tuscon, Ballo appeared in 37 games for Arizona -- all off the bench. He didn't get much playing time during his first year with the Wildcats, scoring 6.8 points in 15.2 minutes a contest.
In his final two seasons with Arizona, Ballo took his game to the next level. As a fourth-year big man -- a junior as far as eligibility was concerned -- Ballo improved his scoring average to 14.2 points a night. He snared 8.6 rebounds and swatted 1.3 shots per game two seasons ago. That improvement from his first season with Arizona to his second earned Ballo Pac-12 Most Improved Player honors.
This most recent season was another good one for Ballo. He tallied 12.9 points a night, adding 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game as well. In his fourth season of on-court action at the college level, Ballo shot a career-best 65.8% from the field.
Ballo has been selected to the All-Pac-12 first team each of the last two seasons. This past year, Ballo was named to the Pac-12's All-Defense team, the first such honor of the big man's career.
Check out Ballo's highlights below.
For all of the latest updates with Indiana's offseason, keep tabs on TheHoosier.com's Offseason Tracker.
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