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Malian 6’10 center Oumar Ballo committed to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday.
Oumar Ballo has committed to Gonzaga, a source tells ESPN. 6'11 Malian center with a 7'6 wingspan averaged 21 points and 17 rebounds at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina last summer. Only 16-years old but will enroll this summer.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 24, 2019
Ballo had whittled his choices down to Baylor, Gonzaga, and Arizona, but the stars seemed aligned for the Zags the entire time. He was just in town to watch the win over Pepperdine, and seemed like the wait in the commitment was a mere formality.
Ballo is young, raw, and uber-talented. 247 Sports estimates he will be a five-star recruit, and his commitment means Gonzaga’s top 5 recruiting class is without a doubt the best in program history. Alongside, Ballo, the Zags will welcome four-star center Drew Timme from Texas, four-star winger Anton Watson from Spokane, four-star center Pavel Zakharov from Russia, three-star winger Martynas Arlauskas from Lithuania, and three-star guard Brock Ravet from Washington.
That is a lot of forwards in the mix, and with good reason. The Zags will most likely lose Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke to the NBA draft, leaving a frontcourt of just Filip Petrusev and possibly Killian Tillie. Although the incoming players will be raw, there is a lot of minutes to go around for seasoning.
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