Konate “Leaning” towards NBA

According to sources close to DubVNation, sophomore forward Sagaba Konate is “leaning” towards hiring an agent and officially entering his name into this year’s NBA draft and surrending his eligibility at West Virginia.

This time last year, former point guard Jevon Carter elected to also enter his name into the NBA draft without hiring an agent. In doing so, Carter was able to receive valuable feedback from professional scouts and general managers on what he needed to improve upon in order to play at the next level.

Konate, however, is apparently interested in seeing if he can enter the NBA sooner rather than later and his performances during the 2017 NCAA tournament (23 total rebounds and 7 blocks) have caught the attention of a handful of NBA front offices.

Per Sportingnews.com, one anonymous NBA general manager believes his smaller frame (6’8″) won’t hinder his ability as a professional.

“I think a lot of teams are kicking themselves on (former Oregon standout and Golden State’s second-round pick) Jordan Bell last year. He was undersized (6’9″) so that was a problem, but he has the timing and the athleticism in the paint to where that does not matter now in the NBA. Sags is much the same way, not really big, but has a feel for defending the rim, long arms, good athleticism. You need guys like that. I think teams seeing what Bell has done will only help him.”

Konate has until June 11th to remove his name from the 2018 NBA draft but with each passing day, the momentum builds for him to forgo his junior and senior seasons.