Photo via 247sports.com
By JOHN PAVIA
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Sunrise Christian Prep center Bakary Konate committed to the University of Minnesota on Wednesday to become their fifth commitment to play under coach Richard Pitino next season.
Konate’s Sunrise Christian Prep coach, Luke Barnwell, offered his take to SNY.tv on what Konate will bring to the Golden Gophers next season.
“He’s a legit 6-11 guy,” he said. “He’s very long, a defensive presence at the rim and a pretty good shot blocker. He moves pretty well and gets up and down the floor. He’s fairly skilled and can make perimeter shots for a big guy. He will be a defensive presence right away at Minnesota, but offensively, he may need to develop a little bit more.”
Barnwell also mentioned that Konate had schools like Oklahoma, Tulane and Texas A&M after him, as well as a few others, but “none were recruiting him as hard as Minnesota was.”
“We’re super excited for him and the opportunity he has,” Barnwell said. “His ability is his ability. We’re going to miss him. He’s a joy to be around every day. We’re proud that he’s going to be representing our school in the future at the University of Minnesota.”
Minnesota also has Josh Martin, Nate Mason, Carlos Morris and Gaston Diedhou committed to play next season. Martin is the 34th-ranked power forward and Mason is the 31st-ranked point guard in ESPN’s rankings.
DARRICK WOOD COMMITS TO DEPAUL
Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports
Hutchinson (KS) Community College guard Darrick Wood committed to play at DePaul on Wednesday afternoon and became their fourth commit for next season.
Wood talked to SNY.tv about his commitment to DePaul and what kind of player he’ll be for the team.
“I’ll give them a hard working, smart, athletic player,” he said. “I’ll be a great teammate and great leader. DePaul is a great situation for me. It’s a winning situation for my family and me. It’s still the Big East Conference and it’s great to play in. The coaches at DePaul expect big things from me and I took that to heart.”
Hutchinson coach Steve Eck also provided some insight to SNY.tv on what the Blue Demons would be getting from Wood next season.
“He’s a smart player,” he said. “He knows basketball. He’s a good passer and a good shooter. Darrick is very athletic. You’re getting it all from him.”
Eck also said that “quite a few high-major schools” were looking at Wood before he chose DePaul.
“He’s a good kid and has good parents,” Eck said. “He’s well-educated and he knows the game of basketball. He could make a great coach one day. He’s very smart and I could see him being a lawyer or something like that too.”
Wood is a 6-4 guard and had originally committed to play at St. John’s in 2012 before enrolling at Hutchinson.
“I stay cool with those guys from St. John’s,” Wood said. “Sometimes the chips don’t fall that way and you’ve got to play the cards that you’re dealt.”
DePaul also has Ray Doby, Rashaun Stimage and Aaron Simpson rounding out their recruiting class for next season. Roby is the 48th-ranked power forward on ESPN’s rankings.
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