Sagaba Konate

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Sagaba Konate
Sagaba50Konate.jpg
Konate in November 2017
No. 5 – Pallacanestro Trieste
PositionCenter / Power forward
LeagueLega Basket Serie A
Personal information
Born (1997-03-19) March 19, 1997 (age 24)
Bamako, Mali
NationalityMalian
Listed height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight118 kg (260 lb)
Career information
High schoolKennedy Catholic
(Hermitage, Pennsylvania)
CollegeWest Virginia (2016–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Raptors 905
2020Zaragoza
2020–2021PAOK Thessaloniki
2021–presentTrieste
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-Big 12 (2018)
  • Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2018)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Mali
FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Madagascar

Sagaba Konate (born March 19, 1997) is a Malian professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A native of Bamako, he moved to the United States to play at Kennedy Catholic High School starting in his junior season. As a sophomore at West Virginia, he was named third-team All-Big 12 and made the conference All-Defensive Team.[1]

High school career[]

Konate, who grew up playing soccer, only started playing basketball in 2014. He credits his improvement to time spent in the weight room.[2] Jeff Kollar and his wife became Konate's legal guardians as he attended Kennedy Catholic High School.[3] At the high school level, Konate earned Player of the Year and All-State honors in Pennsylvania and was a three-star recruit entering college.[4]

College career[]

As a college player, Konate established himself as an expert shot-blocker, averaging 3.2 blocks per game in his sophomore year,[5] which was 3rd in the nation for Division I.[6] In addition, he averaged 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. Konate flirted with the 2018 NBA draft, but ultimately withdrew his name and returned to West Virginia.[7] During his junior year, Konate broke the WVU all-time record for blocked shots with 191. He spent most of the season sidelined due to a knee injury. After the 2018-2019 season, Konate declared for the 2019 NBA draft foregoing his senior year.[8]

Professional career[]

After going undrafted, Konate signed with the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association on July 23, 2019.[9] He was waived and then added to the roster of their NBA G League affiliate, the Raptors 905.[10] Konate fractured his metatarsal in the preseason but returned in January 2020.[11] He averaged 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

On August 20, 2020, Konate signed with Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.[12] On November 29, 2020 Konate announced he had signed with Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki.

On June 25, 2021, he signed with Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.[13]

National team career[]

Konate has represented the under-20 Mali national basketball team, winning a bronze medal at the 2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship.[14]

Career statistics[]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 West Virginia 37 2 10.9 .564 – .636 2.8 .3 .4 1.4 4.1
2017–18 West Virginia 36 36 25.4 .510 – .790 7.6 .7 .4 3.2 10.8
2018–19 West Virginia 8 7 24.1 .435 .391 .813 8.0 1.4 .8 2.8 13.6
Career 81 45 18.7 .509 .391 .756 5.5 .6 .4 2.4 8.0

References[]

  1. ^ Hertzel, Bob (March 5, 2018). "Carter named Big 12's top defender, joins Konate on all-defensive team". WV News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Feldman, Bruce (March 19, 2018). "The Art of Shot Blocking: How WVU's Sagaba Konate Became a Master of Rejection". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  3. ^ White, Mike (22 December 2017). "Kennedy Catholic basketball team is talented — and controversial". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. ^ Pellegrini, Vince (October 1, 2015). "Kennedy Catholic's Konate picks West Virginia". WKBN-TV. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "Sagaba Konate". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Player Blocks Statistics - 2017-18". ESPN. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Norlander, Matt (May 24, 2018). "Mesmerizing shot-blocker Sagaba Konate withdraws from the NBA Draft to return to West Virginia". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Farrell, Nick (April 22, 2019). "What the new NBA Draft rules mean for Sagaba Konate, WVU". West Virginia Illustrated. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "Raptors Sign Robinson, Brissett and Konate". NBA.com press release. July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Howe, Joshua (November 5, 2019). "Canadians Ennis, Brissett highlight Raptors 905 opening day roster". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  11. ^ O'Brien, Kelsea (January 2, 2020). "Healthy 905 No Match For Agua Caliente Clippers". Raptors Republic. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "Casademont Zaragoza inks Sagaba Konate". Sportando. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "Sagaba Konate signs with Trieste". Sportando. June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Hertzel, Bob (November 15, 2016). "Mali ball: Konate making big impact". WV News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.

External links[]

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