By R.L. Bynum
Arizona’s Oumar Ballo, the top-ranked center in the transfer portal, was reportedly going to visit North Carolina but has committed to Indiana, according to multiple reports.
The 6–10, 245-pounder from Mali, who will be a graduate transfer, visited Indiana this week and canceled a planned trip to Louisville after that. He was reportedly expected to visit UNC next week before deciding to play for the Hoosiers.
A teammate of former UNC star guard Caleb Love with the Wildcats, he has career averages of 9.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 132 games. He earned first-team All-Pac 12 honors the last two seasons, and made the Pac-12 All-Defensive team last season.
Carolina is still pursuing Rutgers shot-blocker Clifford Omoruyi, who has UNC on his final list of 12 schools. The Tar Heels need a center after Bacot exhausted his eligibility, with Jalen Washington, Zayden High and Jae’Lyn Withers post players who could return.
Ballo has scored more than 20 points eight times in his career, including a career-high 30 points against Creighton on Nov. 23, 2022.
Ballo, who played his freshman season at Gonzaga after redshirting for the 2019–20 season, averaged 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks last season as Arizona won the final Pac 12 regular-season title and finished 27–9.
Ballo is the Arizona career field-goal percentage leader at 64.6% and is seventh in program history in blocks (134) and eighth in rebounds (830).
If there is a weakness for Ballo, it’s free-throw shooting. He is a career 56.4% shooter at the line and only made 49.5% of his attempts last season.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 1 for two weeks in December and was No. 12 in the final AP poll that was released on Tuesday.
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Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
In transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Through Sunday — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski)
(10 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo via @ArizonaMBB
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