4/19/2021 basketball Edit

Transfer news: Gonzaga big man, former 5-star Oumar Ballo headed to Arizona

Matt Moreno • GOAZCATS

Senior Editor

Matt Moreno is the senior editor at GOAZCATS.com. He joined the staff in August of 2011 and began as senior recruiting editor with the site before becoming senior editor in June of 2014.

It took less than a week for new Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd to land his first five-star prospect at his new home. Of course, it's a player he already earned a commitment from at his previous stop. Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo picked the Bulldogs over offers from Arizona and Baylor two years ago as a high school recruit.

Given a second opportunity to pick the Wildcats he decided to follow through with the plan to pick Arizona where he will have a chance to continue his career with Lloyd as his coach. The 7-footer from Mali redshirted as a freshman in Spokane before playing in 24 games this season averaging 6.2 minutes on the floor per contest.

Ballo, who was rated as a five-star prospect by Rivals.com as a member of the 2019 class, averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds for the Bulldogs this season.

The 7-footer is a bit young for being a player who has already finished his second season at the college level, so there is still plenty of room for Lloyd and the UA staff to develop Ballo once he arrives in Tucson. He shined in various events before making it to Gonzaga where he received rave reviews for his ability to work around the basket and use his length on both ends of the floor.

"He commands space around the rim, has soft hands, has really started to lean up and replace baby fat with muscle and he's learning to play hard at all times," the Rivals.com national basketball staff wrote about Ballo two summers ago.

The 260-pound center entered the NCAA Transfer Portal just over a week ago and just a few days before Lloyd was announced as Arizona's new coach. The Wildcats always seemed like the likely destination, and now the big man will have an opportunity to reunite with his former recruiter in the Pac-12.

Ballo is the second commitment Arizona has received since Lloyd was named the program's new head coach. The Wildcats added a pledge from 2022 center prospect Dylan Anderson late last week.

The Wildcats have lost several pieces this offseason but the departures have mostly been focused on the perimeter. As it stands now UA will return the bulk of its front court rotation including Azuolas Tubelis, Jordan Brown and Christian Koloko.

DISCUSS: Arizona's new addition of Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo

Arizona's current 2021-22 projected roster

G Shane Dezonie

G Shane Nowell

G/F Bennedict Mathurin