Analyst Mark Zanetto from Big East Energy Network might have found the replacement for Adama Sanogo for the UConn Huskies. In a recent episode of ‘The Hoops Cap,’ Zanetto talked about a 17-year-old prospect playing in FC Barcelona’s developmental pipeline, who could be a perfect fit for Dan Hurley’s Huskies.
In fact, this could be the next best fit for Sanogo since he left for the NBA in 2023. That 17-year-old is Sayon Keita, a 6’11” center from Bamako, Mali. Sanogo had helped Hurley’s Huskies win the national championship in 2023 and Zanetto believes the young prospect from Barcelona might be showing the same flashes as the former Huskies forward. Though, he sees some special qualities in Keita that might set him apart.
” If you squint, yeah, you see some flashes of Sanogo, but mostly from the fact that he’s all around the rim. It’s a more different body type. Keita is a different kind of prospect: longer, lighter, smoother, but that same age, that same hunger, that same Malian motor that Adama Sanogo had,” Zanetto said. (1:24)
In 2023, Sanogo was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following UConn’s title victory. Though he went undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Sanogo later signed with Chicago Bulls’ G-League affiliate team, the Windy City Bulls. As of now, he plays overseas in Italy for Trapani Shark in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Sayon Keita is on watchlist of top Division I programs in college basketball
Sayon Keita is currently one of the top international recruits from the class of 2027. And while his demand continues to sore amongst amongst the top basketball programs, the Malian youngster has now started visiting US colleges to choose which one to commit to. He has already visited Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, and Duke and has visits scheduled at UNC and UConn for the first week of August.
There is a possibility of Keita rising through the ranks to reclass up to the class of 2026. This would make him one of the top big man prospects in the class. An elite defender, Keita also possesses great size, length and the efficiency to move fluid on the court. He can also cover immense ground as a defender and become an anchor for his team whenever required.
Keita has already tested the waters of American basketball, playing both at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and the NBA Academy Games this summer. Over there, scouts got to witness Keita’s incredible ability to block and alter shots at an elite level first hand.
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