MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sagaba Konate’s last official block at West Virginia came in the Sprint Center locker room deflecting away media members who wished to speak with him during the Big 12 tournament.
He had 191 others in actual games that stands as the school’s all-time record for blocked shots.
His only communication since has been with NBA teams who have been working out the 6-foot-8, 250-pound forward heading into the June 20 draft, all of whom are trying to figure out if Konate’s athleticism and potential is enough to warrant him a selection.
And this is where the real debate sets in with Konate, whose legacy at West Virginia was one written with cheer, confusion and frustration all balled up into one.
That is the past.
As for Konate’s future, the argument is whether or not the young man is making a mistake by remaining in this draft and not returning to WVU for his senior season?
It is easy for us to go online and find his name not listed on many of the mock drafts out there, save for maybe NBADraft.net, which lists Konate going 53rd overall to Utah.
This is the same NBADraft.net that listed Lamont West as going 16th overall in this draft prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, so take that info for what’s it’s worth.
We already know Konate wasn’t invited to last month’s combine after earning one the year before.
And so the easy argument for those of us who have never walked a mile in Konate’s shoes, weren’t present during any of his workouts or conversations with coaches or his agent is to simply say Konate is making a huge mistake by not going back to West Virginia.
I can’t buy it. Didn’t buy it when Joe Alexander left school early in 2008 or when Devin Williams left school early in 2016.
Neither are in the NBA today. Williams wasn’t drafted and it’s possible Konate will not hear his name this year.
Would one more season at WVU really have changed the fate for any of them?
Speaking about it years later, WVU coach Bob Huggins said he felt Alexander would have benefited from a senior season in college, because, while loaded in athletic ability, Alexander was still rather raw in basketball knowledge.
Hard to argue against that. It’s also hard to pass up the $4 million Alexander earned during his two seasons in the NBA.
But, let’s get to Konate, who is a somewhat undersized — he was measured at 6-foot-6 without shoes in the 2018 combine — power forward with a shot-blocking ability normally reserved for those standing 7-feet.
He wasn’t going to grow a single inch as a senior. Wasn’t going to run faster or jump any higher.
Could he have refined his individual skill set? Maybe worked a little more on his developing 3-point shot, ball-handling skills or on his ability to guard multiple positions?
Absolutely.
Here’s the thing, though: Konate can still work on all of those things. He just won’t be doing it in a Mountaineers’ uniform.
If you take the WVU bias out of the equation and stop picturing him playing alongside Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe next season and think only about the kid, it really does become a lot easier to understand his decision to go pro.
True, Konate would have received some damn fine coaching under Huggins, but it’s completely wrong to simply assume any coaching he’ll get in the NBA G League or overseas (if Konate isn’t drafted or picked up by an NBA team as a free agent) will be any less valuable.
West Virginia does not have the market cornered on good basketball coaches. There are other ones out there.
By going pro, Konate will go up against better competition. That can’t be argued.
By going pro, Konate takes the possible risk of injury as a senior out of the equation.
And if he is a late second-round pick or goes undrafted, that doesn’t exactly mean what it used to.
Fifteen years ago, a player who was a second-round pick had probably a 10 percent chance of playing in the NBA, and a five percent chance of having an NBA career.
In 2019, Golden State and Toronto — the two teams in the NBA Finals — had a combined 17 players on their official rosters who were either second-round selections or undrafted free agents.
I can’t argue against the odds Konate faces. Chances are he will not be among the 60 players taken.
I just don’t believe that constitutes Konate making a big mistake by not going back to WVU.
It’s simply a different beginning to what can still be a good story.
