Issa Konare (born January 25, 1980) is a retired

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

ese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'8" (2.03 m) and 230 lb (104 kg)

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, he was formerly of

Summerside Storm The Island Storm is an inactive Canadian professional basketball team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada that began play in the 2011–12 season. The Storm plays ...

of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketba ...

Niigata Albirex Niigata Albirex BB, formally Niigata Albirex Basketball, is a Japanese basketball club. It is based in Nagaoka, Niigata. Outline The club was founded in 1954 as the company team of Daiwa Securities, a Tokyo-based securities brokerage. In 1 ...

of the

Bj League The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Basketball League, Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Ass ...

in Japan, Kouvot Kouvola of the

Finnish League The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

, KFUM Jämtland Basket of the Basketligan Swedish League, as well as Aix-Maurienne Savoie Basket of the ProB League in France and the

Vermont Frost Heaves The Vermont Frost Heaves were a professional basketball team in Vermont, United States, that last played in the Premier Basketball League, last coached by Joe Salerno. History The formation of the team was announced in December 2005 by foundi ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA). He is also a regular with the Senegal National Basketball Team, appearing in all of the FIBA Africa Championships, including

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

as well as at the 2007 event.

Early year

Konare was born in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in ...

, and spent his formative years playing soccer before he was urged to play basketball by his stepmother at age 17.

College career

In 2001, he was signed by the University of South Carolina in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

but ultimately it did not work out.Issa Konare has Olympic hopes on Senegalese team
(login required) He eventually found a home, and his future wife, at

High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ex ...

2005-06 season

Konare had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in an 88–72 High Point win over Longwood on December 17, 2005. Other notable performances by Konare in 2005–06 include leading his team with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks in an 83–80 loss to

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

on January 3, 2006, and a 19-point, 10-rebound, 4-block effort in a 78–49 blowout of Liberty on February 25, 2006.High Point 78, Liberty 49 - Recap - February 25, 2006
/ref> Konare received the first-ever

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non- football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). ...

defensive player of the year award in 2006, leading the conference with 2.44 blocks per game. He recorded a blocked shot in 25 of 27 games, 18 of 25 having 2+ blocks, and 7 of 18 blocking 4 or more.Leasure, Ellis, Konare, Reboul Garner Big South Top Men's Basketball Awards
/ref> His total for blocks was 66 and his steals total was 25.

Personal

Konare has seven step-siblings, many who are over 6 feet tall. He and his American wife have a daughter and son.

Notes

External links

Profile at asia-basket.com

Statistics at ESPN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konare, Issa 1980 births Living people ABA All-Star Game players High Point Panthers men's basketball players Island Storm players Niigata Albirex BB players Power forwards (basketball) Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Canada Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Finland Senegalese expatriate basketball people in France Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Japan Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Sweden Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Basketball players from Dakar