Connection to Mali strong as Wildcats Oumar Ballo, Sali Kourouma bond over home cooking, braiding, basketball

Like any other college athlete, Oumar Ballo has a lot on his plate.

But if the Arizona men's basketball center is not getting in extra time on the court, playing in multiple games per week, traveling to road matchups or studying, he's (literally) loading up his plate even further.

It's at UA women's basketball wing Sal Kourouma's apartment that he gets a little taste of home. It's there that Ballo can often be found eating, joking around, getting his hair braided or even having a serious talk.

These two friends have found each other again, albeit after more than eight years. This time it's more than 6,500 miles from their homeland of Mali.

Neither of them thought they would reconnect in Tucson of all places. Then again, neither Ballo nor Kourouma thought they’d be playing basketball at Arizona; they're both transfers (Ballo from Gonzaga in 2021, Kourouma this past summer) who relied on the game itself to guide them to this desert.

“For me, just like a small world,” Ballo said. “I never, never in my life I thought I was going to be in the same school as her. Seeing her here is just a blessing to me and it's a great opportunity for me to get even (more) connected to Malian people. And even enjoy the time that we spend together, and her cooking or we've been talking Bambara (a Malian language) is like something that always reminds us of where we come from and who we are. It’s just great and a blessing to have her here.”

The 2023-24 season is the the first both Ballo and Kourouma have been Wildcats together with Kourouma transferring from University of Arkansas Little Rock to Arizona in the offseason.

When Ballo and Kourouma are sitting next to each other there is a lot of good-natured and respectful ribbing going on. One would think that they just fell back into a rhythm they had when they were younger, but that is hardly the case.

This friendship didn’t start out exactly on good footing. Kourouma grew up in Kati which is a 90-minute drive to Koulikoro where Ballo grew up. They met somewhere around 8-10 years old (neither of them was quite sure on the exact age) playing basketball for different schools.

Ballo described it as a rivalry like Arizona and Arizona State.

“Whenever we played them, the women’s team, the whole week, they only talk about her,” Ballo said of Kourouma. “Whenever we played them if her team scored 60, she scored like 45 or 50 (points).”

Kourouma interrupted him: “He did not like that. You always told me, ‘Don’t beat my women’s (team). I would just laugh.”

It wasn’t just Kourouma’s scoring at a young age. Like now, Ballo said, “whenever you have to guard her, she makes (you) work for everything on defense (and) on offense. So, she's always been that kind of person.”

Ballo, on the hand, was over 6-feet when he was 10 or 11 years old. He’s listed at 7-feet now. Back then he could jump and yes, he was already dunking. Of course, he admits now that the baskets weren’t as high as they are now.

At the time, Kourouma said that Ballo couldn’t drive to the basket, “But this year, he's been way better; he can even shoot outside now.”

'Keep trusting in yourself'

Both journeys to Arizona were long and challenging. There were numerous stops and people letting Ballo and Kourouma down along the way.

For Kourouma that was in Phoenix — she ended up at an AAU club a high school opportunity in the Valley didn't pan out — before ending up Kansas; but a torn ACL late in her high school career and help from her Kansas host parents changed her outlook.

For Ballo, that meant people thinking his time at Gonzaga was a "failure," he said, or even unfulfilled promises tied to his time with the the Malian senior national team. 

He added: "Arizona (gave) me a second chance. And for that I'm forever grateful for coach Tommy (Lloyd), for this program and for what they've done for me and my family."

Many would have given up on basketball. That was not an option for Ballo or Kourouma.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world — 184th out of 189 nations indexed in 2022 — according to the United Nations' Human Development Index.

“A lot of kids in Africa grow up and everything's hard to get; whatever you want to get have to work for it,” Ballo said. “Nothing is given to you. Coming from a poor family you have to work for everything. We didn't have much but at least we have love. We have great family and at the end of the day is it's all about having people that are going to love you, are going to be there for you, are going to support you even though you don't have much. But we really can't complain much.”

When Kourouma returns to Mali — two summers ago to get her student visa renewed and this past summer to play for the Malian National Team — she brings basketball shoes and other gear for the children.

“When you come from a poor family sometimes is hard for you to find even the basketball shoes or find a good court to shoot or whatever," Kourouma said. "But you just have to keep trusting in yourself and work hard. And sense your parents (are) like on your back and you have to do everything for them.”

Ballo and Kourouma have come so far from home not only for their dreams of playing basketball and getting an education, but to help their families. In Kourouma's case, this is evident in her giving her parents half of her scholarship money and starting a GoFundMe to help them rebuild their house after it was destroyed in a storm some years ago.

Ballo feels this to his core as well. He goes home every summer with helping the children of Mali on his mind.

“I try to bring shoes, clothes and do stuff like that for kids because when I was young, I wish I had someone who came from France or U.S. bringing me shoes,” Ballo said. “I was fortunate enough this summer to go home to do a camp with 250 kids — boys and girls. We brought them shoes, clothes, basketballs, and we fed them for two days. It was great. 

"(Smiles) on those kids faces is something that will stay with me forever because I wish when I was young, I had an opportunity like that," he added. "Small stuff like that can change kids’ lives.”

Reconnecting as Wildcats

One day last spring after lifting, Ballo heard that Kourouma was on her official visit. He hadn’t seen her in years — only photos online from time to time. He didn’t recognize her at first; she looked different from when she was a teenager.

Ballo was even much taller than Kourouma remembered.

Not realizing they grew up together, Arizona women’s coach Adia Barnes thought Ballo was “flirting” with Kourouma when she saw them talking. Barnes joked that he could have helped in the recruiting process.

Actually, in a way, he did.

Ballo told Kourouma: “This is going to be a great place for you. I know the city; I know people out here going to do anything they can to help you out.”

Ballo also wanted some of that home cooking. He had tried buying the ingredients and watch a YouTube video, but it wasn’t the same as he gets now when Kourouma cooks for him — especially his favorite dish. That's Yassa Poulet, which is chicken on rice in an onion sauce.

Now that Kourouma is a Wildcat, they spend their time together talking about life and basketball. As Ballo has been in Tucson for three years, he has helped Kourouma adjust and work through any challenges that come up.

Kourouma said Ballo is like a brother and she can tell him, “everything I have in my heart, whatever is bad or good.”

Often enough it seems, when they hang out Kourouma might just be braiding Ballo's hair. He finally came clean and said that he wore it as an afro during the UA men's Dec. 2 game at McKale Center against Colgate because Kourouma was out of town in Las Vegas for the UA women's matchup at UNLV.

“I did not want to go to someone else or find an appointment the last minute to go do my hair,” Ballo said. “Because she does it really fast. Some people take three hours; she does it in 45 minutes or like an hour max. I did not want to go sit down for three hours for some random people to do my hair. So, I was like, ‘You know what? I'm just going to run with the fro’ and people have loved it.”