IU basketball center Oumar Ballo appeared on the pregame availability report as questionable a few hours prior to the Hoosiers game against Winthrop on Sunday afternoon.
Ballo emerged from the tunnel in uniform on Sunday an hour before tipoff, but he didn’t participate in warmups, signaling he was unlikely to play. And the 7-footer never checked into the game.
There were no observable indications Ballo was dealing with an injury. Whatever the story, IU coach Mike Woodson was in no mood to discuss the situation postgame. And his comments suggest the staff was a bit caught off guard by the development.
“I’m not going to address that,” Woodson said when asked why Ballo did not play. “But didn’t have a lot of lead time. But that doesn’t matter. You know, guys that are in uniform have got to play, and he didn’t play tonight, and you know, we’ll sit down tomorrow and address his situation and get ready for Rutgers.”
BTN commentators Connor Onion and Shon Morris reported Ballo was out with a “lower-body injury.”
In Ballo’s absence, reserve center Langdon Hatton played 26 minutes and contributed seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Hatton’s contributions were especially critical as starting center Malik Reneau dealt with foul trouble throughout the 77-68 win over Winthrop.
A native of Georgetown, Ind., Hatton found out like everyone else on Sunday morning that Ballo would be unable to play.
“We knew Ballo would be questionable this morning,” Hatton said following the game. “The coaches kind of let me know. Just treating practice every day as serious as you can just let’s you be ready when your number is called.
“Being from Indiana, it’s just a dream to even be on the team. So when your number gets called and you get a play, it’s like a dream come true. So it’s pretty awesome. Just excited to be able to help the team out.”
It was the first game Ballo has missed this year for Indiana. He’s averaging 12.4 points and 9.2 rebounds.
Indiana returns to action on Thursday when they host Rutgers.
