Konig Chose Wolfpack Over Olympic Qualifier
Aislin Konig may have gotten passed over in Friday's WNBA draft, but that hasn't stopped the former NC State basketball star from looking ahead to the next step in her basketball career.
In addition to exploring free agent opportunities in both the WNBA and overseas once the coronavirus crisis subsides and sports start back up, Konig is also looking forward to representing her home country Canada in the rescheduled Olympics.
As she told the hosts of the show "Laying Down the Law" on ESPN Radio in San Antonio, Tex. on Sunday, her chances of making the team may actually be helped by the postponement of the Tokyo Games until July 2021 because of her decision to stay with the Wolfpack rather than taking a leave of absence to play in an Olympic qualifying tournament in February.
"I chose to stay with NC State because I felt like my senior leadership with a young team was more important and I would make a bigger impact at NC State than I would the qualifying team," said Konig, who is a member of the 20-player pool from which the Canadian national team will be selected. "That kind of changed my standing a little bit.
"But I think that having a couple of extra years is going to help me be able to play more with then and really cement myself as a part of that group."
In the meantime, Konig's next move in basketball is uncertain.
While going undrafted on Friday was a major disappointment, she's already put it in her rear view mirror.
"Unfortunately I didn't get drafted," she said. "This draft class was full of talent and the WNBA is so selective, it's really just about being ready for when that opportunity comes. Hopefully the WNBA season is going to go ahead the way it's supposed to and overseas is going to open back up. You just have to continue to prepare regardless."
That's something she's managing to do, even in this time of stay-at-home orders and social distancing.
"It's a lot of running outside," the ACC tournament MVP said. "I'm lucky to be close to some really good outdoor courts, so I'm able to go work on basketball there. But then we don't have gyms or any way to lift, so I'm getting real creative in the way I'm trying to train my body to be prepared."
Konig averaged a career-high 11.0 points per game in 2019-20, while leading the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.27) against conference opponents and earn second-team All-ACC recognition.
She became the 34th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 point mark and her career total of 294 three-pointers places her second on State's all-time list.
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