6'11" big man Bakary Konate is visiting the #Gophers right now...

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Bakary--->Bakery... I've never even seen the kid before, but if his name is a pastry/cake shop, I want him.
 





Same school as Tum Tum I think so that makes some sense.
 

Glad we're expanding our options. Going into 2015-16 with no experienced centers would be scary.
 

howeda7 said:
Glad we're expanding our options. Going into 2015-16 with no experienced centers would be scary.
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agree, but hoping pitino made it clear to him that the offer is only good if anas doesn't commit. I've heard Guaye was told that in terms of his offer, and will likely go to UAB if anas commits here or vice versa
 




GuyFawkes said:
agree, but hoping pitino made it clear to him that the offer is only good if anas doesn't commit. I've heard Guaye was told that in terms of his offer, and will likely go to UAB if anas commits here or vice versa
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Solid source or rumblings through the grape vine?
 

GoldenGopherFan said:
Do you think that he is the "big man from overseas" Rick was referring to in the Charley Walters article? Or are you fairly certain he was referring to Mahmoud?
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That's what I was thinking. After some people claimed Louisville was still after Mahmoud, I started wondering if he was actually referring to someone else as they have been after a number of centers from overseas.
 


Pretty sure that Richard Pitino "discovered" Bakary Konate and suggested him to his dad. At some point in the late Summer/Fall Richard mentioned that he was out to see a PG target and he had a big man teammate that impressed him, but Richard wasn't looking for a big. It was clear at the time that Richard was visiting Sunrise and Tum Tum as it had been reported by Gopher Hole. He told his dad about him and Louisville went and looked at him like the next day and offered immediately. I can't remember if it was a radio interview or a print interview that included this information, but it stuck with me because I thought we could use anybody that Louisville would offer.

Their was speculation in the Louisville paper on the Fall signing day that Konate was a 5th commit to Louisville as Rick Pitino made a comment about expecting to sign a 5th player, but waiting on some paperwork issues: http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...nate-still-prime-Louisville-basketball-target
 



"Barnwell thinks Pitino heard about Konate from his son, Richard, a former U of L assistant who is now the head coach at Minnesota. Richard Pitino was familiar with multiple basketball players at Sunrise Academy because he is recruiting its four-star point guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn, who plays on a separate, high school varsity team than Konate.

Richard Pitino was also at Sunrise on Sunday to watch Nairn. Because Minnesota apparently isn’t looking for a big man like Konate, who plays on Sunrise’s postgraduate team, Richard Pitino suggested his dad give him a look.

Barnwell believes U of L’s staff became aware of Konate two years ago after he played with a group of African all-stars in the United State at the adidas Nations camp."

From: http://louisvillesportslive.net/louisville-extends-offer-to-african-big-man-bakary-konate/

A couple other interesting notes on Konate/Louisville:

It seems like the widespread speculation of Konate being Louisville's 5th recruit was wrong as they ended up signing 7'2 Matz Stockman. The other possibility is that Konate's ACT hadn't come back yet and/or wasn't satisfactory or something else held up his signing and they took Stockman instead.

In December, Pitino made a comment to the local Louisville press about possibly adding a mid year post player that could play immediately. Speculation centered on Konate, Stockmans's teammate Michal Cekovsky, and a little bit on Mahmoud though their was no indication Mahmoud could graduate early. The mid year player didn't happen, but whichever guy it was Rick Pitino thought could help the team immediately.
 

Marcus blog: Gophers recruiting: Seven-footers Bakary Konate and Anas Osama Mahmoud visit this week

Konate was reportedly a possible late addition to Louisville’s 2014 recruiting class, even trying to join the team mid-semester. Rick Pitino mentioned Konate’s situation at his signing day press conference but didn’t use his name. But Konate didn’t have a qualifying ACT score yet. His eligibility is still in question.

The 20-year-old three-star prospect first started to generate some buzz at the 2009 Nike International Junior Tournament in Berlin. He was only 16 at the time but performed well in an event that included the eventual No. 5 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Jonas Valanciunas, a Lithuanian center for the Toronto Raptors.

Osama Mahmoud, who visited Georgia Tech last weekend, is more known nationally since he’s rated as high as a four-star recruit and the 69th best player in the 2014 class by ESPN.com. The Orlando Sentinel did a great profile on him last December. He’s been a member of the Egyptian national team for four years.

Here’s a video of one of Konate’s games in a Spanish league in 2011:


http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...onate-and-asan-osama-mahmoud-visit-this-week/

Go Gophers!!
 

Not a bad strategy by Richard to bring both big men in at the same time for visits. Shows Anas that he is not the only option and increases the odds that he makes his decision sooner rather than dragging things out.
 

BleedGopher said:
Marcus blog: Gophers recruiting: Seven-footers Bakary Konate and Anas Osama Mahmoud visit this week

Konate was reportedly a possible late addition to Louisville’s 2014 recruiting class, even trying to join the team mid-semester. Rick Pitino mentioned Konate’s situation at his signing day press conference but didn’t use his name. But Konate didn’t have a qualifying ACT score yet. His eligibility is still in question.

The 20-year-old three-star prospect first started to generate some buzz at the 2009 Nike International Junior Tournament in Berlin. He was only 16 at the time but performed well in an event that included the eventual No. 5 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Jonas Valanciunas, a Lithuanian center for the Toronto Raptors.

Osama Mahmoud, who visited Georgia Tech last weekend, is more known nationally since he’s rated as high as a four-star recruit and the 69th best player in the 2014 class by ESPN.com. The Orlando Sentinel did a great profile on him last December. He’s been a member of the Egyptian national team for four years.

Here’s a video of one of Konate’s games in a Spanish league in 2011:


http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...onate-and-asan-osama-mahmoud-visit-this-week/

Go Gophers!!
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So i've seen in this thread three difference sources giving three different heights (6' 9", 6' 10", 6'11") and now this stating 7'. How tall is this player, really? It's amazing how little consistency there is on these measurements.
 

GoldenGopherFan said:
Do you think that he is the "big man from overseas" Rick was referring to in the Charley Walters article? Or are you fairly certain he was referring to Mahmoud?
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Direct quote from Charley Walters article...

"We have gone head-to-head with certain kids. There's a young man they're recruiting right now from overseas (slender 7-foot-1 native Egyptian Anas Osama Mahmoud of West Oaks Academy in Orlando, Fla.) that we really loved, but we already had a guy at that position, and we turned him on to Richard, and their assistant went out to see him, and they're recruiting him right now quite actively."
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MadtownGopher said:
Direct quote from Charley Walters article...
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The thing is, That is Walters speculating who it is in the (), Pitino didn't actually say he was Egyptian, But I do think you and walters are correct, because if my memory serves me right, thought Konate was the player little pitino saw and told his dad about because we didn't need him or something
 

GuyFawkes said:
The thing is, That is Walters speculating who it is in the (), Pitino didn't actually say he was Egyptian, But I do think you and walters are correct, because if my memory serves me right, thought Konate was the player little pitino saw and told his dad about because we didn't need him or something
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I'm thinking Rick told him who the player was off the record, but since Rick can't make public statements about recruits, Walters put that parentheses in the quote.

Plus, Mahmoud's sponsor has Louisville connections.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I'm thinking Rick told him who the player was off the record, but since Rick can't make public statements about recruits, Walters put that parentheses in the quote.

Plus, Mahmoud's sponsor has Louisville connections.
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I wonder what kind of connections Dr. Don's sponsor has???
 


mnsports1 said:


I wonder what kind of connections Dr. Don's sponsor has???
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IMG_2671.JPG
 

Illinois is reportedly after Konate now.

Derek Piper @DerekPiper247
DEVELOPING: #Illini are pursuing 2014 three-star center Bakary Konate from Wichita, KS. (VIP)
 

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