Wichita State basketball to host official recruiting visit for 7-foot transfer target
The Wichita State men’s basketball team is exploring the possibility of adding its first 7-foot recruit in the American Athletic Conference era.
Shockers head coach Isaac Brown and his staff will host Florida State transfer Quincy Ballard, a 7-foot, 240-pound center with three years of eligibility, on an official visit to Wichita State this weekend, sources with knowledge of the situation told The Eagle.
Ballard played sparingly the last two seasons at Florida State, appearing in 36 games and averaging just 4.1 minutes per game with totals of 38 points with 70.8% shooting, 33 rebounds and 17 blocks in his two-year career with the Seminoles.
The Syracuse native was a late riser in the spring of the 2020 recruiting class following his post-graduate season at the Quality Education Academy in North Carolina, averaging 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. He went from no Division I offers to choosing between Florida State, Syracuse (his hometown), Cincinnati, North Carolina State and Maryland.
Little has been reported about the interested Ballard has received since entering the transfer portal earlier this week, but it’s safe to assume WSU has made him a recruiting priority by already arranging an official visit so soon. Assistant coach Tyson Waterman is the lead recruiter for WSU, which will be the first team to bring Ballard in for an official visit.
After arriving Friday night, along with his parents, Ballard will spend all day Saturday with the WSU coaching staff with dinner planned at Newport Grill. He is even slated to attend the NCAA women’s basketball Sweet 16 game between Louisville and Tennessee at Intrust Bank Arena, where WSU plays an annual game.
Ballard fits the mold of the mobile, 7-foot shot-blocker that the Shockers have been searching for since joining the AAC. Asbjorn Midtgaard (2017-20), who committed to WSU before it officially moved to the AAC, has been the program’s lone 7-footer in the last 10 seasons, since Ehimen Orukpe (2010-13) roamed the paint for the Shockers.
Wichita State had a promising one-two combination at center last season with incumbent starter Morris Udeze (10.2 points, 6.1 rebounds) and freshman Kenny Pohto (5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds). But the Shockers have found success in the recent past with three-player rotations at center, which could once again be shaping up if Ballard, a premier shot-blocker, joins Udeze, a bulldozer inside, and Pohto, a pick-and-pop specialist to form a well-rounded trio with unique skill sets.
It’s still early in the transfer portal season, which already has more than 800 names, but the Shockers already have at least five scholarships available for their 2022 recruiting class with senior forward Joe Pleasant, senior guard Qua Grant, junior forward Monzy Jackson and sophomore Chaunce Jenkins currently in the transfer portal.
.jpg)