Abdoul Karim Coulibaly's path to Pitt was a road rarely traveled, so it only makes sense his first offseason as a college basketball player didn't go according to plan.
Couilbaly, a 6-foot-8 post player from Bamako, Mali, expected to stay in Pittsburgh after the season ended, but when the coronavirus shutdown halted the college basketball season a day after the Panthers' loss to North Carolina State on March 11 in the second round of the ACC Tournament, players scattered, with most heading home.
For Couilbaly, who moved to the United States at 14 and ended up at Scotland Performance Institute in Chambersburg, Pa., where he rewrote the basketball program's record books, heading home wasn't an option. So he went to Cincinnati and stayed with a friend.
While there, he took up a new hobby.
"I'd usually run for three miles, sometimes two miles," Coulibaly told me Wednesday afternoon.
The high-impact cardio gave the rising sophomore an opportunity to clear his head, which got cluttered sometimes during his freshman season as he struggled for playing time behind Terrell Brown and Eric Hamilton.
After leading Mali to the championship game of the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Greece, where it lost to the U.S., Coulibaly expected to make a quick impact at Pitt.
It took longer than expected, and adjusting to being a seldom-used substitute wasn't easy.
"People in Mali were following what I was doing, but I was sad. I felt lonely," he told me. "The way I played last year, not a lot of playing time, I was mad. I was lonely. I wanted to do more."
Coulibaly did not appear in seven games. In seven others, he barely played. It led to modest freshman numbers: 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 9.4 minutes.
But, as the season progressed and the quality of Pitt's opponents improved, things changed.
His minutes increased. His play improved. Maybe the biggest key, his confidence grew.
Over Pitt's final eight games, Coulibaly averaged 4.9 points and 11.3 minutes. In a 79-67 loss at Duke, he finished with eight points, four rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes, showing no issues dealing with the atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I try to bring energy to the team. That's the big thing with me," he said. "I just bring energy -- defense and energy."
The earliest glimpse of that came during an early-season loss to West Virginia. He played 19 minutes and probably did the best job of any Pitt post player in defending the Mountaineers' Oscar Tshiebwe. Against Georgia Tech, Coulibaly didn't play until the final 4 minutes, 30 seconds after Brown and Hamilton fouled out, but his impact was noticeable as Pitt pulled away late.
"There were times I was impressed, proud of myself," Coulibaly said. "I was able to get out of that mindset that I had. When I had an opportunity against Duke, I went for it. I wanted more playing time."
Going about getting more playing time during the 2020-21 season is something Coulibaly, who is back in Pittsburgh ahead of Monday's phased return for the men's basketball team, could think about on those runs.
Improving his shot is top priority. Coulibaly is quick on his feet and possesses a solid array of low-post moves, but, despite playing close to the basket, he made just 29 of 69 field-goal attempts (42 percent) last season. He also struggled at the free-throw line, making 12 of 25 attempts (48 percent).
There's also rebounding. Coulibaly struggled on the defensive glass. Even Pitt's starting guards -- Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens -- had a better defensive rebounding percentage than the 9.7 Coulibaly posted.
"I just need to put in work. Do my best every game, every practice," Coulibaly said. "I have to shoot better. I used to do a little bit of everything, post moves, dribble, defense. I used to do all that. I'm ready to get back to that."
A fresh approach is needed to get there, and Coulibaly is confident he has one. Part of it will be working harder during practice.
"Everybody has to work harder in practice," fellow rising sophomore Justin Champagnie told me last week. "No matter who does what, we have to be all-in at practice."
That practice will have to come when players are permitted to work out on the court. Despite being on campus, Coulibaly said he's not yet permitted to shoot baskets, and he did not get to work on his game much while in Ohio.
He did lift weights, saying sit-ups also were a regular part of his routine.
But all that running caused Coulibaly to shed a few pounds.
"Coaches can't wait to get me back in the weight room," Coulibaly said with a chuckle. "I can't wait for the gyms to be open. I can't wait to work with the guys."
With the addition of freshmen big men John Hugley, Max Amadasun and Noah Collier, the competition for minutes figures to be fierce. Brown is back for his senior season, too.
But Coulibaly welcomes the competition with the same anticipation he has for starting practice.
"For me, I just have to put the work in. The more work I put in, the more I trust myself, the better I'll be," he told me. "Getting better. That's my goal. I don't care who's there. We'll find out who's the man. It's about competition."
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