Ready or not, here comes Bakary Konate

Six months ago, Bakary Konate was a little-used, uncomfortable-looking freshman who seemed unsure of where to put all of his limbs when he did come off the bench.

In another six months? He'll almost certainly be Minnesota's starting center and a major determining factor to whether the Gophers can scrap in the Big Ten with an extremely young roster or whether they're in for another disappointing year.

Is Konate ready for the huge change in role? Well, he doesn't really have a choice.

"Well, we don't have a lot of options, so he needs to get ready," coach Richard Pitino said.

Konate is the only returning center on the team after the departures of seniors Elliott Eliason and Mo Walker. Freshman Jonathan Nwankwo will join the Gophers as part of the 2015 class, but is expected to be raw and the coach said he doesn't anticipate him winning the job right away. The Gophers also have three scholarships they can use for the incoming class still available – but big men, especially college-ready big men, are hard to come by and the pickings are already slim in spring recruiting.

That leaves the 6-11 Konate to take the job this fall, and Pitino is optimistic the green player who is likely getting the nod by default, will soon earn his stripes.

Already Minnesota has seen big improvement from the Mali native, who averaged 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes a game on the year.

Pitino credits the boost to a change in schedule for Konate, who was enrolled in English intensive classes in his first semester at Minnesota. The strict timing associated with that course required the freshman to leave practices early and join the team for games late, hamstringing his ability to grow quickly.

"I think people need to realize—BK [Konate], in the non-conference, was coming to games 20 minutes before tip, and he was leaving practice legitimately, five days a week, about 35-40 minutes early to go to his classes," Pitino said. "That was really hurting his development. Well now, we're not going to have to deal with that, so we expect him to take the next step."

The key for Konate this summer is continuing to improve his offensive game and learn to play solid defense without fouling. In his first season, he had three or more fouls six times and often was the target of whistles shortly after entering the game. That wasn't as great of a liability as it could have been for the Gophers last year, with Walker and Eliason on hand. Next season it will be a much bigger deal if Konate is forced to sit for long stretches.

"The biggest thing is foul trouble," Pitino said. "That's something we saw him get into a lot, so we're working hard on him playing one-on-one and not fouling, and him being able to operate while guys are in his lap and coming around, slapping down."

The good news? While Pitino can expect his young center to have plenty of challenges in the rugged Big Ten, for now, Konate appears to be absorbing his lessons quickly and impressively.