Sagaba Konate

Draft Notes

Konate, a Mali native who has been in the U.S. since 2014, is a burly PF/C who is undersized at 6-8 but has tremendous strength and impressive leaping ability. He’s a quick leaper who shows great timing as a shot blocker and can really defend the rim. Even if his offensive game doesn’t develop he is still likely to have a long NBA career based on his defense alone.

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

Draft Projection

late first to mid second round pick