Monday’s Big 12 basketball clash between the Kansas Jayhawks and West Virginia Mountaineers saw one of the most remarkable blocks in some time thanks to the Mountaineers’ Sagaba Konate. With 6’5”, 180-pound Jayhawks’ guard Marcus Garrett driving to the hoop for what looked like an easy dunk, 6’8”, 260-pound West Virginia forward Konate came from the other side of the rim, got both his hands up in a volleyball-style block and sent Garrett’s shot packing:
That’s one of the most remarkable blocks you’ll see at any level, and it’s impressive not just how emphatically Konate denied Garrett, but also how he kept the ball inbounds. That created a Mountaineers’ possession and led to a defensive foul by Kansas. But it was Konate’s block that was really remarkable, and undoubtedly will be shown on highlight reels for some time.
This is far from the first block from Konate, a sophomore from Bamako, Mali who played in 37 games for West Virginia last year and set a school record with 53 blocks (despite only starting one game and averaging just 10.9 minutes per game). And his blocks have only increased with a starting role and with extra playing time (an average of 23.2 minutes per game) this year; in fact, he’s likely to tie or surpass that mark even in this game, with 47 blocks heading into this and five by halftime to put him at 52. Konate has turned into a useful all-around player too, averaging 8.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season. But even if he didn’t do anything else Monday, his block here would still be remembered for a long time.
[Matt Clapp on Clippit]