PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — For two years, Gonzaga’s coaching staff and development team worked with Oumar Ballo on his conditioning, helped him fine-tune his hook-shot and spent countless hours behind the scenes with the Mali native as he adapted to the American game. Much to Gonzaga’s delight, and dismay at certain points of Thursday’s game at the Battle 4 Atlantis, Ballo’s made significant strides since arriving on Gonzaga’s campus in the fall of 2019. The sixth-year center, who’s spending his final season of eligibility at Indiana was not only the focal point of the Hoosiers’ offense, but the only player coach Mike Woodson could depend on for long stretches of an 89-73 Gonzaga victory at the Imperial Arena.
Ballo scored a game-high 25 points — the highest total of his career since a 30-point outing against Creighton and Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard during the 2022 Maui Invitational — but his Indiana teammates didn’t offer much in the way of help while the Bulldogs build an 18-point lead in the first half. “It was good, Gonzaga’s a good program,” Ballo said. “There’s a reason why they’ve been good for so long.
So is Indiana, and I’m glad that we got to play. I wish we had a different result, but it’s a long season and we’re going to learn from that and get better for the next opportunity that we’re going to have.” With both of his former schools participating this week, odds were high the Indiana center would run into either .