Adama Bal will keep his talents out west.Β
The former Arizona Wildcat wing, who entered the transfer portal after two seasons, announced on Instagram Sunday afternoon that he will transfer to Santa Clara to play for ex-Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek.Β
Bal, the 6-7 sophomore from Paris, was one of the first recruits of the Tommy Lloyd era in 2021, pledging to the Wildcats a month after Lloyd was hired by the UA.Β
Arizona Wildcats guard Adama Bal (2) flashes a sign after sinking a three-pointer in the first half during the season opener game against Nicholls State at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. on November 7, 2022.
Bal appeared in 23 games as a true freshman, but played spotty minutes in the second half of the season. During the Pac-12 Tournament championship game against UCLA in 2022, when former UA point guard Kerr Kriisa was out with a foot injury and backup Justin Kier dealt with foul trouble, Bal played nine minutes and made two critical 3-pointers in the Wildcats' run to the conference title.Β
Expected to have a larger role as a sophomore this past season, Bal's minutes tapered off and Arizona's seven-man rotation was trimmed down to wing Pelle Larsson and freshman point guard Kylan Boswell coming off the bench. Bal averaged 2.5 points in 8.5 minutes in 26 games last season.Β
Arizona's Adama Bal (2), left, and Azuolas Tubelis (10) team up to strip Western Oregon's Griffin Datcher IV (4) of the ball in the first half of their exhibition game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., November 1, 2022.
A week after Arizona's first-round loss to Princeton in the NCAA Tournament, Bal entered the transfer portal.Β
Bal will now play under Sendek, who coached ASU from 2006-15. Sendek is 120-94 in seven seasons as head coach of the Broncos, with back-to-back trips to the NIT.Β
