Oumar Ballo | Scouting Report
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Born: 13 July 2002
Nationality: Mali
Height: 6–9
Wingspan: 7–foot-6
Position: C
Oumar Ballo was born on 13 July 2002 in Koulikoro, Mali. He grew up in Koulikoro where 45 minutes from the capital Bamako until the age of 13 when he moved to Gran Canaria. Early years, he was soccer as a good goalkeeper. He was tall enough, but the hardest part was that when the ball was on the ground. Ballo was getting into so many problems then I just decided to switch sport. Thanks to his brother, Ballo try to play basketball but he liked to play soccer more because that’s where all his friends were. However, shifted his focus to basketball due to his amazing physical tools. Ballo played basketball in a Canterbury International Basketball School. He stayed there for a couple of years and then, 2018, Ballo moved to Mexico City for nine months. His families, not similar to other African families. I mean, Oumar grew up in a small family, has three siblings, no difficulties and we were very close. His father is 6-foot-6 and his mother is 6-foot-1. His brother is 6-foot-10 and Ballo is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. He has a special bond with his mother. He is the last child and they have strong feelings for each other. His family has always been supportive.
Physical
Standing 6-foot-9 with an amazing 7-foot-6 wingspan, Oumar Ballo has solid dimensions for a big man in my opinion. Strong and very long arms, wide shoulders, strong, very strong core muscles, quick hips, quick footwork, and strong legs. I think he needs to lose some weight. Yes, it may not be perfect for a player who plays based on domination in the painted area to lose weight, but Ballo’s height is not very long, so I think he should lose some weight. Clearly, he is an explosive athlete. Can dunk everything but I have a big question mark. Ballo can dunk everything but has not to shield around the ball. I mean, in some positions, he’s holding the ball too exposed to dunk, so even players who are physically worse than him can block. I think Ballo has to learn to create a shield around the ball. A strong, bouncy athlete who is more comfortable moving bodies inside than sliding around the hill or wings, Oumar showed some good things on his linear move. He is not a great ground athlete but knows how to dribble in the painted area with great aggressiveness and physicality in my opinion. Can run transitions as a trailer well, he knows when and where to run in those situations, not good laterally, has room on that, thanks to his hip mobility, footwork, and body balance Ballo has a brutal effect in the post zone.
Offense