Indiana men’s basketball big men have earned All-Big Ten honors in each of head coach Mike Woodson’s first three seasons at the helm. Sixth-year center Oumar Ballo is expected to extend that number to four.
Ballo, who transferred to Indiana from the University of Arizona in April, was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team on Tuesday, the conference announced in a press release. The list included 10 players, all from different schools, and was assembled with votes from the media.
Purdue junior guard Braden Smith earned preseason Big Ten Player of the Year honors while being the lone unanimous selection on the All-Big Ten team.
Here’s the full list of selections:
G Braden Smith, Purdue
G Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
G Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
G Dylan Harper, Rutgers
G Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
G Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
F Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
F Great Osobor, Washington
F Payton Sandfort, Iowa
C Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Ballo, who stands 7-feet, 260 pounds, earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors the past two seasons at Arizona. Last year, the Koulikoro, Mali, native averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
The Hoosiers’ plan to have Ballo replace center Kel’el Ware, an All-Big Ten selection last year who was a first-round draft pick this summer by the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat.
Citing Ballo’s five-year track record, Woodson anticipates Ballo being a force in the paint for Indiana this season.
“Ballo has shown that when you throw him the ball down there, he’s a load,” Woodson said Sept. 18 at the Hoosiers’ institutional basketball media day.
Ballo is expected to make his Indiana debut in an exhibition game against the University of Tennessee on Oct. 27 at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
