MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — West Virginia fans wanting to see Sagaba Konate’s NBA debut live will need either an alarm clock or a full day’s worth of coffee.
The former Mountaineers’ standout, now playing as a member of the Toronto Raptors, will see action against Golden State at midnight tonight in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The game will be televised on ESPN.
In all, three former West Virginia standouts are expected to see action in Vegas.
Jevon Carter, who was traded from Memphis to Phoenix on Wednesday, is not listed on the Suns’ summer roster, but WVU officials said Carter is expected to play.
Phoenix’s first summer league game was late Friday against Denver.
The Suns’ second game is against the New York Knicks at 9:30 p.m. Sunday (ESPN).
Also, Tarik Phillip, who is coming off a standout season with the Memphis Hustle of the NBA’s G League, is playing for Washington this summer before moving on as part of the West Virginia alumni team’s entry into The Basketball Tournament later this month.
Phillip’s first game with the Wizards is scheduled for 10 p.m. today (ESPN) against New Orleans and No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson.
How Konate performs may be the most intriguing, since the 6-foot-8 forward left WVU with a season of eligibility remaining.
Outside of performing in the G League Elite camp in May, Konate has not played in an official game since last December.
He missed the Mountaineers’ final 27 games with a right knee injury and went undrafted in last month’s NBA Draft before signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Raptors as a free agent.
When healthy, Konate was one of the premiere shot blockers in all of college basketball and his 191 career blocks is the most in WVU history.
But, he suffered a knee injury late in his sophomore season and held off on surgery until after performing at the 2018 NBA Combine.
He entered his junior season still working to get back to full health. The injury limited him to just eight games as a junior, in which he averaged 13.6 points and 8.0 rebounds.
As a rookie last season, Carter averaged 4.4 points and 1.8 assists per game in 39 games at Memphis, who selected him with the No. 32 overall pick of the 2018 draft.
The Grizzlies traded Carter along with Kyle Korver to Phoenix. Carter is scheduled to make $1,445,697 this season, but finds himself on a Suns’ roster loaded with point guards and ball-handlers.
Carter is in his second season of a two-year guaranteed contract.
Phillip last played for the Mountaineers in 2017 and is best known for hitting the clinching shot against Buffalo late in the first round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.
He averaged 7.7 points per game in 106 games at WVU, but developed more offensive production last season with the Hustle.
He averaged 14.1 points per game and shot 40 percent from 3-point range.
In February, Phillip scored a career-high 48 points for the Hustle, while connecting on 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 16-of-25 from the field.
The Wizards signed Phillip to a non-guaranteed contract in April.
Summer League schedule
Toronto Raptors
July 6: vs. Golden State, 12 a.m. (ESPN)
July 8: vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
July 9: vs. New York, 9:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
July 11: vs. Indiana, 6 p.m. (NBA TV)
Phoenix Suns
July 7: vs. New York, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
July 9: vs. Memphis, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
July 10: vs. San Antonio, 9 p.m. (NBA TV)
Washington Wizards
July 6: vs. New Orleans, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
July 8: vs. Brooklyn, 5:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
July 9: vs. L.A. Clippers, 11:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
July 11: vs. Atlanta, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
FOLLOW on Twitter @bigjax3211
