Who Compares? Top Three Ex-Indiana Players Who Produced Like Oumar Ballo

Hoosiers On SI examines past Hoosiers whose stats or style were similar to current players.

Mar 21, 2024; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Oumar Ballo (11) reacts during the second half against Long Beach State 49ers in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena-Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – New Indiana center Oumar Ballo is at the nexus of three different seismic trends that have shaped the way college basketball operates in the 2020s.

One of those trends has been building in the National Basketball Association for the last decade. With analytics, an emphasis on the 3-point shot, and a general turn toward more versatile players, it’s been a rough road to navigate for traditional centers who play near the basket.

While Purdue’s Zach Edey was a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, the traditional post player had to prove himself for one more year at the college level before he convinced the pros of his bona fides.

The other seismic changes are at the college level – Name, Image and Likeness, and the transfer portal.

NIL gives players who draw marginal NBA interest a chance to make money while they hone their craft. The portal gives a player a chance to find the right fit.

Ballo, who previously played one season at Gonzaga and three at Arizona before he transferred to Indiana, has grown into a force as a collegian. While his career stat line is 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, he’s averaged 13.5 points and 9.4 rebounds in the last two seasons for a top-10 level Wildcats squad.

Why is all of this relevant? Being a senior, finding comparisons in Indiana’s past for Ballo is harder than finding them for any of the other Hoosiers who are part of this series.

That’s for the simple reason that since the 1980s, few players of Ballo’s skill set made it to their senior year in college. Most were scooped up in the NBA Draft prior to exhausting their eligibility.

In that respect, Ballo is very much a product of his time. That makes comparing him to past eras a challenge, but not one that will be shirked.

One proviso ahead of time. None of the very few players who compared to Ballo could match his rebounding prowess. Ballo averaged 10.1 boards for the Wildcats in 2024.

Even if you cheat and add recent juniors-who-went-pro to the candidate pool? Only Trayce Jackson-Davis ’23 reached double-digit boards (10.8 rpg) in his final season. Kel’El Ware ‘24 (9.9 rpg) was the only other Hoosier within a rebound of Ballo’s Arizona average.

Tale of the tape

Ballo’s traditional statistics: 12.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 0.8 assists. He converted 65.8% of his shots. He is listed at 7-foot-0 and 260 pounds.

Ballo’s advanced statistics, as used by sports-reference.com: Ballo had 5.2 win shares and a 26.4 Player Efficiency Rating. He had a 21% usage percentage, 5.4% assist percentage, 21.1% total rebounding percentage and 3.4 defensive box plus-minute rating.

Some of the advanced statistics are explained below.

Honorable mention

Given that there were only four comps who met the criteria (senior compared to senior, etc.) for inclusion, it’s a short honorable mention list, but it features an Indiana legend.

Bill Garrett ’51 is our lone honorable mention. The trail-blazing Hoosier is best-known for breaking the Big Ten color line in 1948 and for being All-Big Ten and a consensus All-American in his final season in 1951.

The Shelbyville, Ind., native averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. However, comparing eras in basketball is notoriously difficult, especially when 1950s basketball was played in a completely different way than modern basketball. Garrett falls to honorable mention because of his 32.6% shooting and his 6-foot-3 frame.

If you cheat the criteria and include Hoosiers who went pro early, Cody Zeller ’13, Thomas Bryant ’17, Jackson-Davis ’23 and Ware ’24 are all relatively close to Ballo’s production.

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3. Bill DeHeer ‘69

Indiana's Bill DeHeer blocks a shot during the 1968-69 season in a game at the New Fieldhouse. / Indiana University Arbutus

The late 1960s were not the best period of Indiana basketball. The 1968-69 season was one of the low points. The Hoosiers finished 9-15 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten.

Bill DeHeer did his best to turn the tide and put up good numbers for the 1969 Hoosiers, who could score (81.1 ppg), but gave up points (84.6 ppg) at a higher clip.

Part of a front line that also featured forward Ken Johnson, DeHeer averaged 12.4 points and 9 rebounds for the Lou Watson-coached Hoosiers. Shot-blocking statistics were not kept in the 1960s, but DeHeer was considered a good rim protector.

Where the comparison loses steam is DeHeer’s 40.8% shooting percentage and his 6-foot-9 height.

Role-wise, however, DeHeer might be a good fit. Johnson averaged 18.2 points and 12.2 rebounds playing with DeHeer in 1969. Perhaps the most apt comparison of all for Ballo, who will play along with Malik Reneau in the 2024-25 season.

DeHeer was drafted in the eighth round by the San Diego Rockets after his senior season in the 1969 NBA Draft, but did not play in the NBA. DeHeer was in camp with the then-ABA Indiana Pacers prior to the 1969-70 season, but didn’t make the cut.

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2. Andrae Patterson ‘98

Mar 15, 1996; Orlando, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Indiana Hoosiers guard Andrae Patterson (45) in action against the Boston College Eagles during the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Orlando Arena. Boston College defeated Indiana 64-51. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

It seemed like Patterson, who came to Indiana as a Parade All-American, was always trying to chase expectations he brought to Indiana, but he was a productive player for the Hoosiers.

Patterson averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 1998 for Indiana. The point production is close to Ballo’s at Arizona, even if the rebounds are not.

Listed as a center during his senior season, one thing Patterson never really got a chance to do was partner with 7-footer Jason Collier during his final season at Indiana. Collier only played nine games in the 1998 season.

Patterson later played 40 games over two seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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1. Matt Nover ‘93

Feb 14, 1993, Bloomington, IN, USA FILE PHOTO; Michigan Wolverines forward Juwan Howard (25) is defended by Indiana Hoosiers forward Matt Nover (24) at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Nover, part of Indiana’s great early 1990s teams, is not an exact match for Ballo, but he’s as close as you can get.

Starting all 35 games in 1993, Nover averaged 11 points and 5.9 rebounds. Where he’s closest to Ballo, and why he gets the top spot in the comparison, is his field goal percentage. Nover converted 62.8% of his shots in 1993, the only player to shoot above 60% who met the criteria for inclusion. Nover wasn’t far off in blocked shots either as he averaged 0.7.

Nover is much smaller than Ballo at 6-foot-8, and that’s where the comparison falls apart a bit. But Nover played with Alan Henderson in the 1993 Hoosiers’ frontcourt. Henderson was the primary rebounder. If Ballo and Reneau control the glass as Nover, Henderson and Calbert Cheaney did in 1993, Indiana will be in good shape.

Next: Myles Rice.

Rules

First, the basic rules. Players will only be compared to those who played roughly the same position. There’s little point in comparing Malik Reneau to Yogi Ferrell, for example.

There’s some leeway granted to shooting guards, whether they also handled the ball or whether they were big and could play small forward. Same for power forwards, some of whom are stretch forwards, others have manned the post.

This rule is important: players are only compared to those who were the same class. Seniors-to-seniors, juniors-to-juniors, etc.

With redshirt seasons, and particularly as it relates to current players, COVID-19 amnesty seasons, some current seniors can only be compared to seniors who exhausted their eligibility in their own period of time. Xavier Johnson had three senior seasons thanks to his injury waiver season – a true man of the times.

Criteria

Current Indiana players were compared to players of the past in three different categories – traditional statistics, advanced statistics and role.

One fundamental issue is that advanced statistics are only available starting in the mid-1990s – and that’s only the most basic ones. The full menu of advanced statistics we have today were only tracked starting in the 2009-10 season.

Even the full menu of traditional statistics weren’t accurately tracked until the 1980s.

Traditional counting stats and advanced stats create differences in comps. Traditional stats are subject to minutes played.

Players were considered a “comp” if they were within two points per game in scoring or within one win share in advanced statistics.

After that, the other statistics were used to form a close comparison. A good comp also needs to be roughly the same size, though that is difficult as players have steadily grown over time. Bill Garrett was a 6-foot-3 post player in the early 1950s, for example.

Ratings explained

Win shares: An estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player via their offense and defense. The higher the number, the better.

Player Efficiency Rating: A rating created by John Hollinger in an attempt to quantify a player’s overall contribution. An average rating is 15.

Usage Percentage: An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player when they’re on the floor.

Assist percentage: An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted on where they were on the floor.

Total rebounding percentage: An estimate of the available rebounds a player grabbed when they were on the floor.

Defensive box plus-minus: A box score estimate of the defensive points per 100 possessions a player contributed to above a league-average player. The higher the number, the better.

• WHO COMPARES TO TREY GALLOWAY? A look at Indiana players of the past who have production close to that of Trey Galloway's 2024 season. CLICK HERE.

• WHO COMPARES TO MALIK RENEAU?: A look at Indiana players of the past who have production close to that of Malik Reneau's 2024 season.. CLICK HERE.

• WHO COMPARES TO MACKENZIE MGABKO? A look of which Hoosiers of the past compare to incoming transfer Mackenzie Mgbako. CLICK HERE.