BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana basketball fans expect a lot from transfer big man Oumar Ballo for the 2024-25 season and so do national college basketball observers.
Blue Ribbon Yearbook named Ballo as its Preseason Big Ten Newcomer of the Year. The publication also included Ballo on its Preseason All-Big Ten and Preseason All-America Fourth Team.
Ballo, a sixth-year senior, comes to Indiana from Arizona, where he starred for three seasons.
The Koulikoro, Mali, native averaged 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots in three seasons with the Wildcats. He shot 64.6% (466-of-721) from the floor and collected 34 career double-doubles. The 7-0, 260-pound center holds a record of 112-20 throughout his collegiate career.
In the 2024 season, Ballo averaged 12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and converted 65.8% from the field.
Ballo was twice named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, a two-time All-Pac-12 Tournament Team selection and a 2023-24 All-Pac-12 Defensive Team addition. He was tabbed as the Pac-12 Most Improved Player following the 2022-23 season.
Ballo hopes to continue the success Indiana has had with post players under coach Mike Woodson. In the past two seasons, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel’El Ware have both been selected in the NBA Draft.
After being drafted in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, Jackson-Davis had a successful rookie season at Golden State, where he averaged 7.9 points and 5 rebounds in 68 games with the Warriors.
Ballo has a different build than either Jackson-Davis or Ware. A 7-footer, Ballo (listed at 260 pounds) is bulkier than either Jackson-Davis (245 pounds) or Ware (210 pounds). He is more of a traditional post player who rarely strays far from the rim. Ballo has not attempted a single 3-point shot in his career.
Ballo is part of an influx of transfers that Woodson is banking on to lift Indiana to a better record than their 19-14 mark from 2024 – one that wasn’t good enough to get Indiana into the NCAA Tournament.
Point guard Myles Rice (Washington State) and guard Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) join Ballo as escapees from the Pac-12 Conference, which has lost 10 of its members thanks to conference realignment.
Former Illinois guard Luke Goode, former Bellarmine center Langdon Hatton and former South Carolina State center Dallas James have also bolstered the Hoosiers’ ranks. True freshman forward Bryson Tucker was also added to the six Hoosiers who return from the 2024 roster.
The infusion of new faces has raised expectations for the Hoosiers. In preseason projections, Indiana is ranked 30th by barttorvik.com and has been ranked in the top 25 in the estimation of other college basketball observers.
Indiana last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and hasn’t been to the second weekend of the tournament since 2016.
The Hoosiers will begin the 2024-25 season with a charity exhibition game on Oct. 27 at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers. The first home game is an exhibition against Marian on Nov. 1. The regular season begins on Nov. 6 when SIU-Edwardsville visits Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
It was also reported on Thursday that Indiana will play its Big Ten Conference road game against Penn State at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia on Jan. 5.
