Bakary Konate first heard comparisons to Gorgui Dieng when he was being recruited by Louisville and Minnesota back in high school.
Konate, now a 6-foot-11 sophomore center for the Gophers, was told by both Rick and Richard Pitino that he reminded them of a former Louisville big man who is now with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That was hard for Konate to grasp because he was still raw.
Dieng won an NCAA title and was playing in the NBA.
"Rick Pitino told me, 'You have a lot of potential and you're going to be much better than Gorgui,' " Konate said.