Bob Huggins said a later block reminded him of Kenyon Martin, and then he was clear in saying he was not comparing the present to the past. That wasn’t fair. Or accurate. What is fair and accurate is freshman forward Sagaba Konate is less like the soccer player born and raised in Mali and even less like the raw talent prone to technical fouls on the hardwood in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

He’s beginning to look a lot like a difference-maker for No. 7 West Virginia as it heads into the second half of his first regular season.

“He just continues to get better and better,” said coach Bob Huggins, who will likely play host to the No. 1-ranked team in the country for the second time in as many seasons when Baylor visits the Coliseum Tuesday. “He’s really listening and trying to understand. I thought the blocks really got us going and got the crowd back in the game.”