Promising center Oumar Ballo schedules recruiting visit to Gonzaga

Oumar Ballo, a promising young center from Mali, has scheduled a recruiting visit to Gonzaga.

Ballo plans on visiting Gonzaga’s campus Feb. 19-22, according to Stockrisers.com. The fourth-ranked Zags entertain Pepperdine on Feb. 21 and BYU on Feb. 23.

Ballo is considering Gonzaga, Arizona and Baylor. The Zags are considered the front-runners for Ballo by some recruiting analysts. Ballo told 247sports.com in December he’s reclassifying to the 2019 recruiting class.

The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Ballo is 17 years old, but he has good long-term potential.

Gonzaga could be looking to replenish its frontcourt with juniors Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke and Killian Tillie all potential NBA draft candidates. Freshman forward Filip Petrusev, who saw extended playing time earlier in the season when Tillie was injured, averages 7.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.2 minutes.

Gonzaga’s 2019 class includes three forwards: 6-10 Anton Watson of Gonzaga Prep; 6-9 Drew Timme from J.J. Pearce High in Richardson, Texas; and 6-10 Russian native Pavel Zakharov, who plays on Montverde (Florida) Academy’s Center for Basketball Development (CBD) team.