Ousmane Konate signs on at South Carolina
Last season, there may not have been a better junior college transfer in the country than Taj Gray of Oklahoma, who came from Redlands Community College. South Carolina fans have to be excited about this week's news, then, that the Gamecocks signed Redlands forward Ousmane Konate.
"When he was a freshman, he was taking on Taj Gray and those guys in practice," said head coach Steve Eck. "He was gonna help us a bunch."
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Konate ended up having to redshirt as a freshman, something which is actually good news for the Gamecocks because he now has three years of eligibility. Even this season, his first on the court, Konate never really showed his potential.
"No one ever saw Ousmane at close to his best here," Eck said. "He has torn cartilage in his ankle and he's going to get that repaired next week."
"He just never was healthy," the coach continued. "We'd get up 15 or 20 points in the first half and I'd pull him out. I'd put him back in for a few minutes in the second half, but then I'd pull him out again. The most he ever played this season was 16 minutes, so his averages are very deceiving."
However, the potential for the 6-foot-9, 260-pound native of Senegal is undeniable. He was headed for Missouri out of high school and took visits to Oregon and Florida State before choosing South Carolina this time around.
"He has a real nice shot," said Eck. "He could shoot three pointers for us, shoot free throws. When we got technical free throws, we'd put him on the line to shoot them. He has a strong body, good post moves. He can do a lot of good things in there."
Eck said Konate is not quick off the floor, but he compensates for that because of his wide body. He will join Eastern Oklahoma's Kevin Palacios in a bulked-up Gamecock frontcourt next season.