Report: Arizona Transfer Oumar Ballo to Visit Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is in line to get yet another big time transfer on campus.

Former Arizona center Oumar Ballo, currently the No. 2 player in the transfer portal according to On3, is set to visit the Cardinals next week, according to 24/7 High School Hoops' Sam Kayser.

Ballo will first visit Indiana on Apr. 14-16, then head to Louisville on Apr. 16-18, followed by a visit to Kansas State on Apr. 19-21. Ballo also plans to visit North Carolina and Florida, per Kayser.

Ballo is only the latest transfer scheduled to make a visit to campus. Toledo guard Dante Maddox Jr., South Florida guard Chris Youngblood and Florida Atlantic guard Nick Boyd will all be visiting this weekend.

During his three seasons with Arizona, the 7-foot, 260-pound big man was a force to be reckoned with down low in the post. Ballo is a two-time First-Team All-Pac 12, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team and Pac-12 All-Tournament Team selection.

His 2023-24 campaign was his best to date, averaging 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.8 assists while starting all 36 games for Arizona. His rebounding mark was good for 15th in D1, while his 20 double-doubles and 65.8 field goal percentage were both good for fifth nationally.

This came on the heels of an impactful 2022-23 campaign, where he averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 points per game to be named the 2023 Pac-12 Most Improved Player. He joined the Wildcats ahead of their 2021-22 season after spending his first two years at Gonzaga and redshirting his true freshman season.

During his time at Arizona, Ballo collected 1,273 points, 867 rebounds, 140 blocks and 109 assists over 108 games and 71 starts. He departed as their career leader in field goal percentage (64.6%), and is one of 10 players in UofA history with 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds as a Wildcat.

Not long after the end of Louisville's disastrous 2023-24 campaign, one which resulted in the firing of second-year head coach Kenny Payne, the Cardinals' roster began to flip. In fact, all 12 of Louisville's scholarship players have entered the portal, with only walk-on guard Hercy Miller in line to return.

Fortunately, new head coach Pat Kelsey is already starting to work the portal. So far, Kelsey has landed three transfers since officially being named the new head coach on Mar. 28: guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott - both of whom are following Kelsey from Charleston - as well as former James Madison star and 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr.

(Photo of Oumar Ballo: Rob Gray - USA TODAY Sports)

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