Indiana University Men’s Basketball announces the signing of Arizona Transfer Oumar Ballo
IU Head Coach Mike Woodson announced the addition of transfer Oumar Ballo (EW-mar BALL-oh) to the Indiana men’s basketball program on Monday. Ballo, a two-time All-Pac-12 selection, arrives at Indiana after spending five seasons at Arizona and Gonzaga. “Oumar is a dominating post presence on both ends of the floor with a winning background. His experience playing at the highest level will elevate our program. He is a big fella with soft touch around the rim, good hands, and solid footwork. He is very physical and is a perfect fit in our system and our league. We are really happy to welcome Oumar and his family to Bloomington” Said Mike Woodson in a press release.
The 7-0, 260-pound center averaged 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in three seasons at Arizona. He shot 64.6% (466-of-721) from the floor and posted 34 double-doubles, third most in Arizona basketball history. He was one of 10 players in program history to accumulate at least 1,000 career points and 800 career rebounds. Ballo was twice named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, selected to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team two times, and voted to a pair of Pac-12 All-Tournament Teams. He was named the 2022-23 Pac-12 Most Improved Player, the 2022 Maui Invitational Most Outstanding Player, and the 2021-22 Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year.
Ballo began his career at Gonzaga with a redshirt season in 2019-20 before earning a spot in the rotation for a Bulldog program that finished 31-1, won both the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Championship game. Overall, Ballo has won 84.8% (112-of-132) of the games he has appeared in throughout his career. Prior to his collegiate career, Ballo was highly successful in the international scene and was tabbed the top international prospect by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony in 2019. He led Mali to its best-ever finish (2nd) at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, the highest-ever finish by an African team. He was named to the tournament’s All-Star Five after he averaged 17.6 points (7th in the tournament), 11.8 rebounds (1st), and 3.8 blocks (1st) while shooting 52.4% from the floor in five tournament games.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer announces 2024 Schedule and Season Tickets are now Available
Indiana Men’s Soccer Head Coach Todd Yeagley announced his team’s 2024 schedule on Monday. The 18-match regular season slate includes five teams that made the NCAA Tournament, 11 teams that finished top 60 in RPI rankings last fall, an expanded conference schedule and 11 home matches on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. Season tickets are on sale now, and fans can see every regular season home match for a one-time payment of $44 ($4 per match). “It is going to a be an electric 2024 season,” Yeagley said. “UCLA and Washington bring great pedigree to Big Ten men’s soccer. In addition to our challenging conference slate, we once again take on an exciting and difficult non-conference portion of our schedule.”
IU has welcomed 175,561 fans to The Bill since 2017, the nation’s No. 1 attendance mark in that span. Within that time, the Hoosiers own a 68-6-10 (.869) home record, have won eight Big Ten Championships (five more than next-best school) and have reached the NCAA College Cup four times and the Sweet 16 all seven of those seasons. Last season, a program record 33,973 fans visited Armstrong Stadium as Indiana went 11-1-2 and celebrated both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles on Jerry Yeagley Field. Indiana owns an all-time home record of 365-71-55 (.799). “The Hoosier Army and loyal fan base will once again play a key role in our classic home-field advantage at Armstrong Stadium,” Yeagley said. “We can’t wait to get going in August as we pursue championship success this fall.”
Indiana opens its season on the road with a historic matchup featuring the two programs with the most NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championships. Ten-time title-winners Saint Louis will host the eight-time champion Hoosiers August 23 at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis. IU’s home opener welcomes Notre Dame for a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, decided by penalty shootout, on Thursday, August 29. The Hoosiers will then host another 2023 tourney team in Yale that Sunday, September 1. Indiana renews its annual meeting with Butler September 4 as the derby returns to Indianapolis. Another tournament team will travel to The Bill on Monday, September 9, as IU welcomes Dayton.
The Hoosiers open Big Ten play on the road at Rutgers on Friday, September 13, before their conference home opener against soccer rival Maryland a week later (Sept. 20). Those two games sandwich a Tuesday (Sept. 17) matchup with in-state foe Evansville. IU will play consecutive conference contests on the road at Ohio State (Sept. 27) and Wisconsin (Oct. 1) before a three-game homestand. The Hoosiers will welcome Big Ten newcomer Washington on October 4, tourney team Kentucky on October 8 and Penn State on October 11 – the latter a rematch of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament Final.
The Penn State contest is the first of five straight conference contests at the end of October. On October 15, IU will visit Michigan in Ann Arbor before hosting Michigan State that Friday (Oct. 18). The Hoosiers will have one week to prepare for cross-country travel to play Big Ten newcomer UCLA in Los Angeles on October 25. The conference slate closes with a home match against Northwestern on October 29. The Hoosiers will not play on the final day of the Big Ten regular season (Nov. 3) but will host NCAA Division-III opponent Trine for the fourth-straight year on November 1. IU has two exhibition matches scheduled in the buildup to the season. The Hoosiers will meet Bowling Green at the Grand Park Sports Complex in Westfield, Indiana, on August 13 before traveling to face Louisville August 17. The games mark the first chance to see IU’s 13 newcomers – four transfers and nine freshmen.
Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or by calling the IU athletics ticket office at 1-866-IUSPORTS (487-7678). Adult season ticket packages are $44, and youth ticket packages (ages 3-18) are priced at $22. Each order will also receive 10 priority points in the ‘Other Sports’ category. For more information on the Varsity Club’s Priority Points program, visit here. Season ticket holders will also receive an exclusive gift from Indiana men’s soccer, redeemable at any home match. Single-match tickets will go on sale Aug. 2. Indiana University faculty/staff and students receive free admission to home matches with a valid Crimson Card.
Indiana Men’s Soccer Schedule by 2023 RPI
3. Notre Dame* (2), 20. UCLA* (13), 29. Yale*, 30. Kentucky*, 35. Washington, 42. Saint Louis, 43. Penn State, 46. Northwestern, 52. Ohio State, 53. Michigan State, 54. Michigan, 63. Dayton*, 66. Wisconsin, 96. Rutgers, 99. Maryland, 109. Butler, 113. Evansville and NA. Trine.
Indiana University Football Cornerback Kobee Minor enters the transfer portal
Indiana has lost a potential starting cornerback to the transfer portal. Kobee Minor arrived in Bloomington (from Texas Tech) along with his brother Darryl (from UTEP), and he’ll now follow his brother into the portal. In his lone season at IU, Minor was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. He made 29 tackles on the season and was credited with four pass breakups in 615 total snaps played on the season. Of the 615 snaps, 339 of those came in pass coverage. Among FBS cornerbacks with 300 coverage snaps played, Minor led the Big Ten and was No. 7 nationally with just 18 receptions allowed (339 coverage snaps).
Indiana is down to seven scholarship cornerbacks on their 2024 roster. Back from last season are Jamier Johnson, JoJo Johnson, and Jamari Sharpe. The Hoosiers also added Austin Peay transfer Cedarius Doss from the portal, and they have three incoming freshmen — Dontrae Henderson, Josh Philostin, and Christian Peterson. New head coach Curt Cignetti has successfully recruited several players out of the transfer portal from his prior stop, James Madison. Last week, JMU cornerback D’Angelo Ponds entered the transfer portal, and he could be a player to watch for Indiana. Ponds was selected to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team in 2023. A Second Team All-Sun Belt corner, Ponds finished his rookie campaign with 51 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 13 pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Ponds ranked second in the Sun Belt and tied for 13th nationally with 15 total passes defended and led the league with 12 during conference play.
Assistant Coach Amber Smith is no longer with Indiana University Women’s Basketball
Indiana Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach Amber Smith and IU have parted ways; a program spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Hoosier. “Amber is no longer on the Indiana Women’s Basketball staff and is pursuing other opportunities both within and out of basketball,” the spokesperson said in a text. Smith spent one year in Bloomington, working with IU’s Guards. She helped the Hoosiers to a 26-6 season with their third Sweet 16 appearance in the last four years. Among other developments, Smith’s coaching helped Sara Scalia enjoy one of the strongest seasons of her five-year college career. The Minnesota transfer averaged 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game with career-best shooting clips of 43.5 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from 3-point range. Smith, a Kentucky alum, came to IU last offseason after seven seasons on staff at UK. Teri Moren still has three assistants on her staff at Indiana: associate head coach Rhet Wierzba, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Linda Sayavongchanh, and team & recruitment coordinator and assistant coach Ali Patberg.
IHSAA adds Girls Wrestling and Boys Volleyball as IHSAA Sponsored Sports for the 2024-25 School Year
During its annual review of the Member School By-Laws on Monday afternoon, the Board of Directors of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. approved for full recognition the sports of Boys Volleyball and Girls Wrestling beginning next school year (2024-25). The Board of Directors, led by this year’s President Stacy Adams of Valparaiso High School and Vice President Chad Gilbert of Charlestown High School, approved 12 proposals, eight (8) failed to
receive enough support, and one other was tabled during the meeting in Indianapolis. All proposals are considered in the order that the rule appears within the current by-laws. The Board of Directors has four options on each proposal: affirm, deny, table or amend a rule. A simple majority is necessary to act on any measure and all approved measures become effective immediately unless otherwise noted.
With full recognition, an IHSAA state tournament will now be established for both sports with those details being announced in the coming months. Girls Wrestling will be a winter sport while Boys Volleyball will be played in the spring just as they have in previous years and during the IHSAA’s Emerging Sport Process. The Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association has been administering its state tournament since 1994 while the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association has been conducting a Girls wrestling state tournament since 2017. After being added to the Emerging Sport Process in 2022, both have seen significant growth over the last 24 months. Girls Wrestling now touts more than 1,400 individuals representing 177 different schools while Boys Volleyball teams have now climbed to more than 100. They become the latest sports to be fully recognized following Unified Flag Football in 2018 and Unified Track & Field in 2013. Both are co-ed sports as part of the IHSAA’s partnership with Special Olympics Indiana. Prior to those, Boys & Girls Soccer became official IHSAA sports in 1994. A measure that would have added the sport of Girls Lacrosse to the Emerging Sport Process, was tabled to the June Executive Committee meeting.
Indiana Pacers lead Milwaukee Bucks 3-1 after Game 4-win Sunday Night
Myles Turner scored 29 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 24 and the Indiana Pacers made a franchise playoff record 22 3-pointers as they pulled away late for a 126-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night. The win gave the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Indiana has won three straight since losing the opener and can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014 — with a win Tonight at Milwaukee. Indiana is 7-2 this season against the Bucks, who are trying to avoid a second straight first-round exit. Haliburton posted a career playoff scoring high for the second straight game while Turner matched a playoff career high that he set in Friday night’s overtime win. Turner also had nine rebounds and four assists against a Bucks squad that was missing two injured All-Stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. It’s unclear if either will be available in Game 5. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his left calf April 9. Lillard injured his Achilles tendon Friday night and had a protective walking boot covering his right foot this weekend. Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
But the Bucks depth took even bigger hits with Middleton playing much of the second half with four fouls and forward Bobby Portis Jr. being ejected with 5:01 left in the first quarter after he and Andrew Nembhard were involved in a shoving match. Portis drew two technical fouls on the play, part of a six-technical first half. Still, the Pacers struggled to take advantage, finishing the back-and-forth first half with just a 67-64 lead. But after Lopez opened the third quarter with a basket, Haliburton responded with three straight 3s to give the Pacers a 76-66 lead. The Bucks never completely recovered as Indiana extended the margin to 95-78 on Obi Toppin’s layup with 2:24 left in the quarter. Milwaukee opened the fourth with seven straight points to close to 98-92. Indiana answered with a 10-2 run to rebuild a 108-94 cushion with 7:25 to play and the Bucks couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the game. Nembhard finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers and Pascal Siakam added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Malik Beasley added 20 points for Milwaukee.
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