MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — While Sagaba Konate possesses NBA-caliber athleticism, a league talent evaluator told MetroNews the West Virginia forward could benefit by returning to school for his junior season.
After the NBA combine wrapped up Sunday in Chicago, underclassmen who haven’t hired agents face a May 30 deadline to withdraw from the draft. West Virginia’s potential spot as a preseason top 10 team next November depends on Konate’s forthcoming decision.
While listed at 6-foot-8 by WVU, Konate measured under 6-7 barefoot at the combine and projects as a low second-round pick.
“He’s a little smaller than what I thought,” the scout said. “Why would you stay in the draft because a team tells you they’re going to pick you in the 50s?”
“It’s like jumping off the high board with a blindfold on and you don’t know whether there’s water in the pool or not. There may be water, there may not be.”
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In two combine scrimmages, Konate made 11-of-21 shots while averaging 11.5 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes.
“He clearly can block shots at the NBA level, he clearly can rebound at the NBA level, and he can play with energy at the NBA level — and his offense is clearly getting better,” the scout said. “But the NBA is moving away from guys like him. The Danny Fortson types, the undersized tough guys, they’re like a man without a country because the game has gotten so much faster and there’s so much 3-point shooting and guarding pick-and-rolls.
“My advice to him would be to go back, because look at the strides he made the last two years in college.”
The Mali native played only two years of small-classification basketball at Kennedy Catholic High in Hermitage, Pa., before signing with West Virginia over Pitt. Konate averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks his freshman year in Morgantown before making a leap last season when his playing time and productivity spiked — 10.8 points, 7.6 and 3.2 rejections.
With the 2019 draft expecting a talent dropoff, Konate could upgrade himself to a first-rounder with a guaranteed contract.
“Next year’s draft isn’t as good,” the scout said, “and now that Konate has been to the combine, NBA guys will have him on the list of players to go watch next year.
“It’s a rush job to me if he goes pro now.”
