POCATELLO, Idaho- Idaho State women's basketball redshirt freshman
Diaba Konate is joining the French under-23 national team. The 19 year old point guard will compete in the 3-on-3 tournament at the 2019 Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games in Qatar beginning mid-October.
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This is Konate's third time competing with the French national team.
"I'm excited," Konate said. "I don't know how to explain it, I just want to play and represent my country."
In 2018, she won two silver medals in 3-on-3 competition, one at the FIBA U18 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, and another at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 "I think playing with the 3-on-3 team will give me the opportunity to play with the 5-on-5 team, which is one of my goals," Konate said. "I want to show that I'm one of the best players in France, so that they have to choose me."
Konate, a Paris native, started playing basketball when she was 12. She continued her career at a boarding school in Nice and later played for two club teams in France.
In December 2018, Konate joined Idaho State's team.
 "We're just glad that Diaba is here," Head Coach
Seton Sobolewski said. "This is just a really nice side note for her to be able to play on the national team. It's one of her goals. ... It's fun for her, and it brings a lot of fun recognition to her and her family."
Konate will fly to France this Friday and have a day with her family in Paris before joining her teammates for a five-day training camp. She'll be the youngest player on the team, which also includes players from Syracuse University, the University of Washington and the University of Rhode Island.
After training camp, they'll fly directly to Qatar for the tournament. Opening ceremonies for the World Beach Games are Oct. 11, and the 3-on-3 tournament starts on Oct. 13, with the final on Oct. 16, which is also the closing day of the Games.
"I love it," Konate said. "I think it's a great opportunity for me to show what I can do, and then also show that coming to the United States has made me become a better basketball player."
All the 3-on-3 games will take place at Katara Beach in Doha.
After the tournament Konate will return home to compete in the Idaho State women's basketball upcoming season. Their first game will be an exhibition vs. South Dakota School of Mines on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. (MST) in Reed Gym.
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