Mali's Sika Kone 6'3" 19 yrs old

[kat0189]

Hadn't heard of her before but expected to be the top international draft pick for the WNBA.

Love her game. A great passer and pretty relentless inside while versatile.

 

[cancontent]

I'm a fan of her as well. She was a huge reason to why this team performed the way they did. Mali's investment in development is paying off.

 

[Dillon77]

According to this report in The Next, she just declared for the 2022 WNBA draft.

 

[Plebe]

I watched her intently in a couple of the U19 tournament games, and she is — in my highly unqualified opinion — a bona fide superstar with a ceiling far above where she's already at.

Pretty much singlehandedly elevated Mali to a level competitive with almost all other elite teams present in Hungary.

 

[JellyBean]

I wish her well in the League.

 

[Plebe]

Postscript:

I don't toss around the "she's the next __" comparisons lightly, but Sika Kone brought to my mind Nneka Ogwumike and (reaching back a bit) Sophia Young: relentless motor, top-shelf athleticism, and a consummate teammate.

I don't put as much stock in draft order as many seem to, but it won't surprise me if she goes first. If I was picking my team, without the slightest hesitation I'd pick her before N. Smith or R. Howard or anyone else I'm aware of who'll be on the board.

 

[CocoHusky]

According to this report in The Next, she just declared for the 2022 WNBA draft.

Kone stats stated in this tweet from the U19 World cup are not correct. PPG should be 19.7. Regardless she was the best player in the tournament by a mile. She is an elite athlete with a relentless motor.

 

[CocoHusky]

Postscript:

I don't toss around the "she's the next __" comparisons lightly, but Sika Kone brought to my mind Nneka Ogwumike and Sophia Young: relentless motor, top-shelf athleticism, and a consummate teammate.

I don't put as much stock in draft order as many seem to, but it won't surprise me if she goes first. If I was picking my team, without the slightest hesitation I'd pick her before N. Smith or R. Howard or anyone else I'm aware of who'll be on the board.

I wouldn't pick her ahead of Smith or Howard because I need to see more of her playing basketball at a higher level.
Put another way Smith and Howard are more WNBA ready today, bit Kone could easily catch up and perhaps surpass both in a few short years.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Thibault has had success with young international players.

 

[Kaizen]

She is expected to be #15 to Las Angels in April WNBA draft.

WNBA Mock Draft 2022 | WNBA Draft Projections - Lines.com

Full round 2023 WNBA mock draft projections, with trades and compensatory picks based on weekly team projections and college and amateur player rankings.

www.lines.com

 

[awhom111]

According to this report in The Next, she just declared for the 2022 WNBA draft.

Strictly speaking, she declared for the 2022 WNBA draft whenever she was paid to a level that made it impossible to qualify for any college sports team in the United States. It seems like multiple media outlets were taken in by whatever her agency prepared for publicity purposes, which is smart by the agents, but kind of revealed some basic ignorance of WNBA rules that have been in place for years by the media.

I wrote about a number of other international players who are also going to be available for selection, ranging from more likely to be picked to probably just a name on the end of somebody's draft board:

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I wouldn't pick her ahead of Smith or Howard because I need to see more of her playing basketball at a higher level.
Put another way Smith and Howard are more WNBA ready today, bit Kone could easily catch up and perhaps surpass both in a few short years.

I wonder how WNBA people actually regard play in the top divisions in Spain and France compared to various college conferences. In Spain, only the top few teams have any WNBA level players, but the league itself and the teams are pretty deep and there are plenty of experienced players and familiar names for those who follow college basketball. She's been pretty impressive this season on a team where they are relying heavily on her with most of the other key players just playing their first professional seasons after college. The age thing definitely makes international prospects harder to project given that she is around two years younger than the main college prospects.

 

[Dillon77]

I wouldn't pick her ahead of Smith or Howard because I need to see more of her playing basketball at a higher level.
Put another way Smith and Howard are more WNBA ready today, bit Kone could easily catch up and perhaps surpass both in a few short years.

She is expected to be #15 to Las Angels in April WNBA draft.

WNBA Mock Draft 2022 | WNBA Draft Projections - Lines.com

Full round 2023 WNBA mock draft projections, with trades and compensatory picks based on weekly team projections and college and amateur player rankings.

www.lines.com

Coco: See your point. Kaizen: After looking at that mock, I can't see her lasting that long.

Two teams -- Dallas (of course) and Indiana -- have two first-round draft picks. They'd be wise to spend one on Kone and the other on a prospect that they've seen more frequently.

Dallas, of course (again), has done this before with Awak Kuier last year. Kuier was even more unknown that Kone and really didn't start showing much until late in the season. Kone makes her bread and butter in the lane (unlike Awak), which is what Dallas needs to balance things up.

Indiana needs a little bit of everything, but especially down low.