Oumar Ballo still rebounding from health scare that left him hospitalized 3 times

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Even with a bus ride back from Tempe after Arizona beat Arizona State on Dec. 31, Oumar Ballo arrived home in plenty of time to enjoy New Year’s Eve.

Except he had to leave again at 4 a.m.

And this time it was by ambulance.

“I’ve never been so sick,” Ballo said Thursday after Arizona beat Oregon State 86-74. “This was serious. A guy coming to pick you up in an ambulance two times in four days? That’s a lot.”

In his first interview since contracting what he said was a stomach virus, Ballo told the Star that he actually was hospitalized three times in the days following the UA-ASU game, getting there twice by ambulance.

He arrived first on Jan. 1 at 4 a.m, then left a few hours later. Still in bad shape the next night, Ballo said he checked in again on Jan. 2, again at about 4 a.m., and this time stayed for about four hours.

As the first week of January went on, Ballo sought help from UA doctors, started taking medicine and went back to the hospital on his own for a third time.

And then, on Jan. 4, Ballo showed up for practice.

Huh?

Well, there was a game to play against Washington the next day, and Ballo apparently didn’t want to miss it.

“The U-Dub game, I have to come out to play, because I can never walk away from this team,” Ballo said. “Arizona gave me a new opportunity, new life, fresh beginning, and I’m forever grateful for this program. For me, walking away from this program is not an option.

“So I came in, practiced one day and came out and played my (butt) off.”

For 34 minutes. That’s correct: Ballo capped a week of three hospitalizations by playing a career high in minutes, compiling 15 points and seven rebounds.

And the Wildcats beat Washington 70-67.

Every minute mattered.

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“For him to come out and give it up for his teammates says something about his character and him as a man,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said after that game. “Without him today, we don’t get this done.”

In that postgame interview, Lloyd revealed without specifics that Ballo had been hospitalized, but it was difficult to tell from Ballo’s performance against Washington that there was anything wrong. Ballo hit 5 of 11 shots and made all five of his free throws, humming at what appeared to be near-normal efficiency.

It wasn’t until two days later that Ballo actually appeared to still be fighting something off. In Arizona’s 74-61 loss to Washington State on Jan. 7, Ballo hit just 3 of 10 free throws and 4 of 11 field goals, logging 26 minutes.

On Thursday, Ballo appeared to be back to normal again. In Arizona’s 86-74 win over Oregon State, he came up with his eighth career double-double, collecting 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Combined with forward Azuolas Tubelis, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds, the Wildcats were able to at least temporarily snap out of a funk that had them struggle to beat ASU and Washington while losing to WSU.

It was the second time this season Arizona’s two bigs recorded double-doubles in the same game.

“I’m not conditioned to it, but they’re definitely capable of it every night,” said Lloyd, whose ninth-ranked team faces Oregon on Saturday. “We need those guys to perform at that level to win games, whether it’s home or away.”

But, despite all that success Thursday, Ballo said he still isn’t back to 100%.

Listed as having 260 pounds on his 7-foot frame, Ballo said the illness melted 12-13 pounds away. Right in midseason, when players need stamina but aren’t yet feeding off the adrenaline rush of the late season and postseason.

“It’s gonna take time to put all that muscle back,” Ballo said.

So on Saturday, when he takes on Oregon’s three former five-star big men — fellow Malian center N’Faly Dante, plus freshman 7-footer Kel’el Ware and 6-11 sophomore Nate Bittle — Ballo still might not be doing so at full strength.

But it’s better than not playing. Or having an ambulance pull up once again.

“I was really sick. Really, really sick,” Ballo said. “Our medical staff did a great job. They (found) a great cure for the disease, and I’m still on the medicine. But I’m glad I got so much better.”