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Konate

Harve74

Athletic Director
Gold Member
Jul 6, 2001
15,515
2,813
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I made the trek thru the cold and snow to Slippery Rock to watch Sagaba Konate's Kennedy Catholic team upset Farrell 48-46. It was SRO in the first half.

I had forgotten just how horrible high school refs are. They were whistle happy throughout and I don't know if the one guy called a block/charge correctly once all night. It made the game very difficult to watch. It's hard for the players to get into a flow when the whistle is being blown on every trip downcourt. Then again, both teams seemed to think they thought they were getting extra points for degree of difficulty. It often looked like an AAU game, not a district championship. Somewhere Eddie McCluskey is rolling over in his grave.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a game before when both teams were in the bonus in the first quarter. At least 4 kids fouled out. Or, to be fair, so many passes which never touched anybody on the court but just sailed out of bounds. I remember now why I quit going to high school games.

Anyway, to Konate. He finished as leading scorer for Kennedy with 16 points. I didn't count his rebounds but I'm sure they were in double figures. He's strongly built and athletic but pretty raw.

All of his points came within 4 feet of the rim or on FT's (6/10). He attempted one 10 ft jumper which missed and put the ball on the floor a few times. Others had complained he's slow getting off his feet. I didn't see that so much. What I did see was that he tended to reach out for blocks and rebounds rather than move his feet and get the rebound at it's high point. He actually seemed to improve at that as the game went on.

Farrell didn't have anyone to challenge him. Both of the "big" guys they tried on him fouled out quickly. But, Kennedy wasn't very good getting the ball to him either.

He played with two fingers on his right hand taped together and had some trouble griping or catching the ball. Hopefully, the taped finger was the problem.

There are some bad habits he needs to break, particularly just casually tipping the rebound to a teammate instead of ripping it down, and understanding verticality. But his intensity was fine in the second half and after getting two fouls in the first period, he played smart and under control for the rest of the game.

He can run when he wants to. He had a spectacular rebound basket following a missed fast break layup. He grabbed the ball and threw it down into the basket from about 4 feet away.

At the moment he's a low post center, not a 4. That's his game. But, he's just a junior and there are physical skills there. If he were 6-10 instead of 6-8, I'd take him in a moment. I think there is a lot of potential for development but it's always a gamble.

I don't know if he's still growing or how old he is. His brother who is listed as a sophomore is a completely different physical type.

The competition level in District 10 Single A is not that challenging. I'd like to see him against some bigger opposition. And with zebras who have a clue about basketball.
 
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