Sagaba Konate

Sagaba Konate (born March 19, 1997) is a Malian professional basketball player for PAOK of the Greek Basket League. 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]

Sagaba Konate
Konate in November 2017
No. 5 – PAOK Thessaloniki
PositionPower forward
LeagueGreek Basket League
Personal information
Born (1997-03-19) March 19, 1997
Bamako, Mali
NationalityMalian
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High schoolKennedy Catholic
(Hermitage, Pennsylvania)
CollegeWest Virginia (2016–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Raptors 905
2020Zaragoza
2020–presentPAOK Thessaloniki
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-Big 12 (2018)
  • Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2018)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Mali
FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
2014 Madagascar

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 PAOK Thessaloniki.

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.[13]

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 37210.9.564–.6362.8.3.41.44.1
2017–18 West Virginia 363625.4.510–.7907.6.7.43.210.8
2018–19 West Virginia 8724.1.435.391.8138.01.4.82.813.6
Career 814518.7.509.391.7565.5.6.42.48.0

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. Hertzel, Bob (November 15, 2016). "Mali ball: Konate making big impact". WV News. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
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