Sags shoots, scores, secures and swats
Head coach Bob Huggins had a hunch that Sagaba Konate was going to get some open jump shots against Oklahoma.
Turns out that was indeed correct.
Hunch is a loose term to describe what a veteran head coach like Huggins thought considering part of his job is to examine the situation and make educated guesses on how opposing teams will handle situations.
After going back and watching Oklahoma a season ago, the expectation is that the Sooners would elect to drop back and take away looks at the rim leaving Konate alone on the perimeter to shoot the ball.
It’s a brilliant plan as long as Konate doesn’t make shots.
Fortunately for West Virginia and quite unfortunately for Oklahoma, he did.
“Everybody thought I can’t shoot the jump shot so I’ve kind of really worked on it,” Konate said.
But it didn’t really come as a surprise to Huggins.
“I told him two days ago you’re going to have open jump shots and then the light went off and ‘I better get in there and practice because I actually get to shoot it now’,” Huggins said.
The sophomore was 5-10 from the field, including three of those from around or beyond the foul line in the second half as the Mountaineers attempted to stay afloat with senior Jevon Carter on the bench. It’s part of his game that has received a lot of effort since arriving on campus and is just facet to his skill set.
“It’s all confidence. I’ve been working on it a lot. I’m getting better but it’s not the end,” Konate said.
But it didn’t start out that way. Konate drew the ire of Huggins early in the first half with a missed jumper but the scorn was in large part because when the shot was taken, not if it was.
Because of the defense the Sooners were playing, Huggins wanted to see what else West Virginia could get before Konate pulled the trigger on that look because he could get it at any point on the clock.
“He took one too quick,” Huggins said.
It wasn’t just his jump shot against the Sooners either. Konate finished with his third double-double in his career pulling down 13 rebounds to go with his 16 total points, including 6-6 from the line.
The point total was the second most of this season while the rebounds were the most in single game in his career.
The Mali native also did his job protecting the rim as well and setting the tone early with four blocks in the first half including several that fired up the rest of the team and a sold out crowd.
And for all the success on the offensive end, it’s the rebounding and blocks that stand out.
“Rebounding first of all, then blocked shots,” he said.
But perhaps more importantly is the fact that he played 33-minutes and recorded only two fouls. Trying to avoid foul trouble has been one of the primary focuses of Konate as he has worked on keeping himself straight up on defense to prevent taking himself off the floor.
Konate continues to take steps in the right direction and his development is positive sign for a team that needs consistency in the post. The defense is there, but the offense is slowly catching up as West Virginia continues to rack up wins.
“He’s getting better and better, the game has slowed down,” Huggins said.
