Arizona Basketball adds Zaga transfer, Oumar Ballo

Continuing to make progress with the Wildcats, Arizona Basketball head coach Tommy Lloyd has now added Gonzaga transfer, Oumar Ballo.

With the Wildcats fully transitioning to the Tommy Lloyd era, you are starting to see Arizona Basketball going through plenty of changes, particularly on the recruiting trail. Their latest addition to the program is Gonzaga transfer, Oumar Ballo.

It was just recently that the big man from Mali announced his transfer from Gonzaga, and it seems he wasted no time in finding a new home. Fortunately for us, it is with our Wildcats.

Arizona Wildcats

The news of Oumar’s commitment to Arizona broke via social media on Monday evening, and he is the first player added to the 2021-22 roster under the Lloyd era.

A former standout and teammate to Benn Mathurin at The NBA Academy Latin America, he comes in with plenty of upside and gives the Wildcats even more length and depth down low.

So what is Arizona Basketball getting with Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo?

Aptly nicknamed ‘Baby Shaq’, at 7-feet and 260 pounds, he has great size, athleticism, and length. However, since arriving in Spokane, the redshirt freshman has had limited playing time, so there is a challenge ahead for him.

Appearing in 24 games with the Bulldogs last season, Oumar finished the year averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, so his impact was limited.

Chalk it up to slower development or just not being a right fit, either way, he comes to Tucson with upside and potential. And with the Wildcats needing bodies for 2021-22 and beyond, bringing in Oumar makes sense. Plus, since he was a former teammate to Benn, if adding Oumar means keeping Benn, we’re all for it!

Scouting Report:

He is a talented big man with solid skills overall that typically plays with his back to the basket. He does a nice job at finishing around the rim, however, it looks like he could improve his hands, footwork, and offensive moves.

Defensively, he’s quite solid. He possesses great length and awareness down low, shows decent explosion, and does a great job at disrupting shots and using his length to his advantage.

Here are some of his highlights from the FIBA U19 Tournament just a couple of years ago…