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Sports Illustrated ranks its top 100 NBA draft prospects

Strengths
  • Shot blocking - one of the best in college basketball
  • Always blocks with the correct hand and does a job of not fouling
  • Has great leaping ability and gets off the floor in a hurry - can put his head near the rim
  • Times his jump well and meets the opponent at the highest point
  • Appears to have great length/wingspan, although we don't have an official measurement
  • Plays with fire and intensity - A real leader, especially on the defensive end
  • Rebounds well on both ends of the floor and is very dangerous on the offensive glass
  • Has shown steady improvement in his offensive game
  • Has made huge improvements as a free throw shooter, getting up to 79% as a Sophomore
Weaknesses
  • Is a limited offensive player who doesn't shoot the ball with range and does most of his scoring in the lane
  • Isn't a great pick and roll player and isn't a pick and pop threat
  • Doesn't handle the ball particularly well - mostly a one dribble player and doesn't have much of a face-up game
  • Is undersized for the NBA game, which might limit his upside
  • Can he hold his own against NBA size? Can he guard outside the lane?
Comparisons
  • Plays defense like Ben Wallace
  • Built like DeJuan Blair but is much more explosive
http://www.nbadraftroom.com/p/sagaba-konate.html

 
Has anyone considered that maybe the kid just doesnt want to be in college and would rather just play basketball full time?

Nothing wrong with that. He has a job waiting for him somewhere.
 
Has anyone considered that maybe the kid just doesnt want to be in college and would rather just play basketball full time?

Nothing wrong with that. He has a job waiting for him somewhere.

I don't have a problem with it. Hope he succeeds at his dream. He's going to have to learn he needs to do it for himself and not anyone else. I just don't see him getting drafted. That's my opinion.

I don't like the way he ended his college career. I'll leave it at that.
 
I don't have a problem with it. Hope he succeeds at his dream. He's going to have to learn he needs to do it for himself and not anyone else. I just don't see him getting drafted. That's my opinion.

I don't like the way he ended his college career. I'll leave it at that.

Whats wrong with him doing it for his family?
 
Whats wrong with him doing it for his family?

Perhaps I should have said if he doesn't have the heart to put 110% into it then family will not matter.

He is the one doing the work so he needs to keep focused on the job at hand.
 
Perhaps I should have said if he doesn't have the heart to put 110% into it then family will not matter.

He is the one doing the work so he needs to keep focused on the job at hand.

Agreed.

I dont think he really had interest being in school and leaving made the most sense for him and one more year probably wouldnt change much.

He will still be undersized for NBA and his other weaknesses can be addressed out of college (offense).

He won't become much of a pick n roll player under Huggins, which the nba wants and its not like he needs to get stronger or put on size.
 
Alexander was a good player but I think athleticism was a huge issue

Let's not act like Alexander didn't become a great player in Europe.
Adam Morrison was another one. Don't think he ended up in Europe.
You think another year in college would have made Morrison a great player in the NBA.

I don't think it would either player.


Athleticism?!? Did you ever watch him play???

Stop.
 
Heard Utah likes Konate. Seen that he may be their late second round pick

Don't blame Konate because he has to look out for himself.
He needs coaches that will let him develop more in the NBA style.
All you have to do is look at the way his game developed while at WVU since he arrived. In no way can you be critical of the WVU coaches. He was raw when he got here and our coaching staff did a great job with him.

Here is the issue. He's an undersized (6-6 is what he measured) power forward by NBA standards. Unfortunately for Konate, the position of power forward no longer exists in the NBA.

I wish him well but he has an uphill climb to say the least.
 
All you have to do is look at the way his game developed while at WVU since he arrived. In no way can you be critical of the WVU coaches. He was raw when he got here and our coaching staff did a great job with him.

Here is the issue. He's an undersized (6-6 is what he measured) power forward by NBA standards. Unfortunately for Konate, the position of power forward no longer exists in the NBA.

I wish him well but he has an uphill climb to say the least.

He has a 7-0 foot wingspan
His height does not matter.

Watch the NBA game with the bigs and watch WV.
Huggins probably would adapt his game if he ended up with an Anthony Davis but he is not teaching any big to play on the perimeter.
 
Sags will be one of 40 college participants in the NBA G League Elite Camp, which will take place May 12-14 at the Quest Multisport in Chicago. Based on their performance in the G League Camp, a few could be asked to remain and also work out in the Combine a couple days later.

Last year, Konate earned a direct Combine invite and still didn’t impress enough to earn an evaluation that included a likely NBA Draft slot, thus he returned to WVU for his junior year.

But his 2018-19 season, and the improvement that would have made him worthy of a draft pick this time around, did not materialize. A lingering knee injury limited him to just eight games of action.

Not only does his game remain a question, but now his health does as well. There’s no indication he’s done anything more than low-impact workouts in the last five months.

What has he been able to do to improve his draft stock in the past year?

I understand Konate has NBA hopes. Dreams are wonderful, but eventually reality needs to take hold.

The reality is the chance of Konate being drafted this year are none, and the odds of him making an NBA roster for the 2019-20 season are slim.

Admittedly each year undrafted players do see time in the NBA. This past season 27 rookies who went undrafted last June played in at least one NBA game. But a vast majority of those were on two-way contracts that had them spending much more time in the G League than with the NBA clubs. Only four undrafted rookies from last year — Jaylen Adams of the Atlanta Hawks, Gary Clark of the Houston Rockets, Allonzo Trier of the New York Knicks and Kenrick Williams of the New Orleans Pelicans — participated in more than 25 NBA games tin 2018-19.

It would be wonderful if Sags could reach his NBA dream. He’s a charismatic, friendly individual and an incredibly energetic player.

So if healthy and with additional time to develop, Konate very well could become a legitimate NBA draft choice. But he’s not been healthy, and because of that, he hasn’t been able to develop.

Thus he won’t be drafted this year, though he seems intent on trying to force his way into the professional ranks before he’s ready.

Good luck to kid and I hope makes it.
 
Why do you think he entered the draft.
Everyone was amazed by his numbers.

He couldn't just run the floor but he was strong.

He was considered the top athlete in the draft by many....you are so far off on this im wondering if you are confusing him with a different player?

He ran great but actuallly needed to add strength.
 
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Not drafted but signed. Hope he can impress or he will be looking for work in Europe.
 
Whats wrong with playing in Europe?


Nothing especially since he not even born in the US anyhow. The problem is unless he’s playing in your local YMCA league he needs to learn how to dribble and to shoot a 3pt shot. He cannot do either of those.

He could’ve really focused on that Next year at WVU and made himself a lot of money.

He essentially “sold low.”
 
Nothing especially since he not even born in the US anyhow. The problem is unless he’s playing in your local YMCA league he needs to learn how to dribble and to shoot a 3pt shot. He cannot do either of those.

He could’ve really focused on that Next year at WVU and made himself a lot of money.

He essentially “sold low.”

Well he's managed to get signed by the current NBA Champions without knowing how to dribble or shoot 3's, so apparently he's doing something right.

And given your logic, hes had 3 years to learn dribbling and shooting under Huggins and hasn't, so what makes you think hed learn in year 4?
 
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Well he's managed to get signed by the current NBA Champions without knowing how to dribble or shoot 3's, so apparently he's doing something right.

And given your logic, hes had 3 years to learn dribbling and shooting under Huggins and hasn't, so what makes you think hed learn in year 4?


Well...he barely played last year and not a ton in year one, so at best he had 2 years.

Second, he was too valuable in the post two years ago. We couldn’t experiment with him at small forward.

We have an excellent Center and Power forward coming in next year. we would have to luxury of letting him develop an outside shot and the ability to drive.

Getting signed to the equivalent of a AAA baseball team does not mean you’re gonna be in the majors. First round draft choice practically guarantees it. Just sayin’
 
Well...he barely played last year and not a ton in year one, so at best he had 2 years.

Second, he was too valuable in the post two years ago. We couldn’t experiment with him at small forward.



We have an excellent Center and Power forward coming in next year. we would have to luxury of letting him develop an outside shot and the ability to drive.

Getting signed to the equivalent of a AAA baseball team does not mean you’re gonna be in the majors. First round draft choice practically guarantees it. Just sayin’

So the current NBA champions are AAA Baseball?

You dont think professional coaches can teach him to shoot?

Huggins isnt going to turn him into a pick n roll player and he isnt getting any taller @ WVU, which are what limit him in the NBA.

He is a shot blocker and a rebounder. He is undersized and that isnt changing with another year in college and if he needs to become a better shooter, he doesnt need more time in college for that either.
 
The G league is their developmental league. That is his ceiling for now. Success stories (long term starters in NBA) for G league only (not 2 way option) players are the exception, just like the vast majority of minor league baseball players.

He isn’t getting taller, but he literally could not have picked a lower value for his services than he just did. 1st round money is GUARANTEED...and a lot more of it. He’s literally put himself in the Professional position equivalent to jumping off a moving train.
 
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