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basketball Edit

How can WVU's frontcourt mesh with team while upping NBA hopes

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The return of NBA prospects Esa Ahmad and Sagaba Konate gave an immediate boost to West Virginia for the coming season.

Some might argue the duo thrust the Mountaineers well into the preseason Top 15, and perhaps the top 10. Coming off a pair of Sweet 16 performances - and three in four years - it's thought that the coming year could be one for a push toward the program's next step.

But there's a question of fit following the NBA's feedback. It was more than hinted that Konate needed a increased shooting range and better ability to guard quicker players on the perimeter, while Ahmad simply hadn't truly proven himself quite ready after an up-and-down year during which he was suspended for half the season.

Ahmad's issue seems rather obvious. Prove the character issue by refraining from suspension or other dubious acts, and showcase greater consistency while flashing the passing from the high and low post and physical prowess to attack the bucket, and there's a chance he could get looks from NBA teams.

That largely meshes quite nicely with exactly what head coach Bob Huggins and the Mountaineer coaching staff wants from Ahmad. A Class of 2015 four-star signee out of Cleveland, Ahmad averaged less than five points and three rebounds as a freshman before hitting for more than 10 points and 4.3 boards per game over the past two seasons. At 6-foot-8, 230 pounds Ahmad has the size and interior scoring ability of a high-level collegiate player.

He's hit at least 44 percent of his field goals throughout his career, and the mismatches created against other threes and fours are exploited on a per-player basis because of the blend of size, driving ability, inside scoring and the distribution that has always seemed to come naturally to Ahmad. The areas of concern, fro both Ahmad and the Mountaineers, have been turnovers and the tendency to disappear for stretches or even entire games. Consider that Ahmad had a nearly one-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman at 50 assists against 48 turnovers.

Those numbers took a nosedive as a sophomore, Ahmad turning the ball over 72 times with 59 assists before having 41 assists against 35 turnovers a year ago. That's a half season's worth of work, and against better competition as Ahmad's eligibility kicked in just as Big 12 play began. It shows the sophomore season might well have been just a slump, but Ahmad has had the ball stripped out of his hands often while trying to face up or back in (he had five turnovers and zero assists in the home loss vs Kansas), but also pieced together games in which he amassed at least four assists with no more than two turnovers.

Ahmad's scoring consistency is also a question. While Huggins notes that, with the build of WVU, any player could become the primary scorer on any night, Ahmad's fluctuation in that respect is rather extreme. After scoring 18 and 15 points in his first two games back, he netted eight points combined over the following three outings. In two of those - TCU and Kentucky - he was shutout. He then scored at least 14 points in three of the next four games, then was held to five total in the rematch versus TCU and the second Kansas game.

If it was the same teams, the same match-ups, that gave Ahmad issues, one could understand. Perhaps the Horned Frogs' quickness simply bothered the then-junior. But to go for 15 against Kansas and then two shows a somewhat up-and-down pattern. That might continuee this season, and that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing as long as West Virginia can find its scoring elsewhere, and Ahmad lessens the turnovers while retaining the passing prowess (converting more than 30.6 percent from the field would be a plus as well).

But for a team sans Jevon Carter and Dax Miles, and thus needing to replace a combined 30-plus points (17.3 from Carter and 12.9 from Miles), knowing Ahmad would get one at least a dozen-plus per outing would create a more settled situation.

All that goes with exactly what West Virginia will try to do this season, the finding of consistent scoring, the increased field goal percentage, the better assist-to-turnover ratio and the idea that, within a full year's performance, a more steady level of play is preferable to the scattered outings of an unsettled 2018 season.

Konate's situation, it could be argued, is a touch different. Once considered potentially a top 25 player in the draft, the forward's stock began to sink despite excellent performances at the combine. Konate averaged 11.5 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes over a combined two scrimmages. He showed an ability to block shots at the NBA level, and his energy, intensity and physicality were without question. But Sags measured just 6-foot-7 without footwear (he's listed as 6-8 on WVU's official roster, though it should be noted the game is, indeed, played in shoes), and that lack of size led to the idea that he projected as an undersized four at the NBA level.

That meant Konate would need to adapt to playing additional possessions guarding the perimeter and better hone his outside shooting touch. It's one aspect to score on the inside in college over significantly smaller, less lengthy players. It's another to attempt to continually do so at the NBA level against the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid or Paul George.

Konate did showcase a 16- to 17-foot jumper last season, and Huggins projected more than a year ago that the forward could develop out to where he could knock down threes at a reasonable level. The strides made over the last two years are remarkable, especially considering Konate has played the game at an organized level for just approaching five years now. The Mali native played two years at Kennedy Catholic High in Hermitage, Pa., then signed with WVU. He averaged 4.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a freshman, then upped that to 10.8, 7.6 and 3.2 respectively a year ago.

His shooting touch and range improved dramatically, as did his understanding of body control and how to attack offensive players without getting fouls. His two-hand blocks became known as a trademark nationally, and it helped Konate control his body and not reach with the offhand to create foul calls. In less than 24 months in Morgantown, Konate challenged the school's all-time single season blocks record of 124 set by D'or Fischer in 2004. Konate finished with 116, and will almost surely smash West Virginia's all-time career mark of 190, also by Fischer. Now with 169, Konate needs just 21 to tie, a mark that frankly could come in the first five games of the year.

The upside is obvious. But so are the challenges, and that's where this potential of a question comes in. Just how does what the NBA wants Konate to do blend with what Huggins will be asking. Is WVU better off with Konate as a pure rim protector? Does it need him badly on the back end of the press, to thwart any potential breaks while mixing in a new starting backcourt? Are the Mountaineers more well-served with him pounding inside and staying with the shorter jumpers, or could Konate indeed fire away from 18-plus feet in an effort to showcase himself?

A known commodity is this: Huggins will run the program as he sees fit with a nod to winning games and proper discipline. The crux of the conversation will be just how much Konate can do on the perimeter. There's little question WVU would love to switch one through five. It hasn't been able to truly do that since the 2010 Final Four team. Assistant coach Erik Martin is on the record as saying this is the best 13 players the school has had during the Huggins era, though this group isn't quite at the level of 2010's top seven to eight.

That would mean that Konate would be on the perimeter more. How much more? That's a match-up issue with a flex built in to countering the opponent offensive sets. If at first glance what Konate is trying to accomplish seems to have a few jagged edges with what the Mountaineers want, that could well be the case. The perimeter operation, the longer shooting, etc. But there's a way to find that balance, to operate within a system that, for the most part, lets players play while understanding situation, proper execution and game IQ.

Konate has the ability to do that. He's never shown himself a selfish player. Intense, yes. Emotional, sure. But never selfish. It's why this blend could well work effectively. The desires of the two go hand-in-hand. WVU would love for Konate to develop a solid long range shot, and play well both inside and out at each end. The issues, if any, will come when the coaching staff calls uncle on what they judge to be the limit on Konate's ability. If Konate doesn't agree, only then will there be a proverbial, if not literal, butting of heads.

A strength of both Konate and Huggins, as well as the staff, has always been honesty. Konate has openly admitted when he didn't have a solid game, or what he or the team should have done in various situations. Huggins' honestly is almost a state treasure, something that has earned the trust, and as a corollary respect, of West Virginia's people. If both groups are honest with each other, and working toward a common goal of lifting both team and player performance up then there's little reason what the NBA desires and what WVU needs can't blend together effectively.

“I am glad that I was able to gain feedback and to get experience from being invited to the NBA draft combine," said Konate, who will be West Virginia's top returning scorer and rebounder, as well as the leading returning shot blocker in the nation this season. "It was a great experience, and I’m ready to get back to work with my teammates at West Virginia.”

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