BAMAKO (Mali) - Mali's wonderkid Siriman Kanoute has won every competition he was involved in Africa, he made his name known worldwide, and now he prepares to debut for his country's senior team.

In the build-up to this this week's Qualifiers in Alexandria and Kigali, Kanoute appears as one of the players to watch out for.

Mali will take on hosts Rwanda, Nigeria and South Sudan in Group D as they open their quest to secure one of the three places for next year's FIBA AfroBasket. 

"THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ME RIGHT NOW IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO FIND MY SPACE AND BECOME A REGULAR WITH THE SENIOR TEAM."- Siriman Kanoute

Kanoute is only 19 years of age, but he already counts two continental titles under his belt, after powering Mali to the triumphs in FIBA U16 and U18 African Championships in 2017 and 2018, respectively. And, he was named MVP on both occasions. 

Two years ago, for instance, he was superb, averaging 14.3 points, 5.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals as Mali upset Senegal in the Final in Bamako.

A year earlier, Kanoute established a FIBA U16 African Championship record for most points in a single game after scoring 50 points in a game against host country Mauritius.  

An unquestionable talented guard, Kanoute made a splash at FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 in Argentina, leading all scorers with 24.6 points per game.

And, the 1.76m (5ft 9in) point guard has been crucial in helping Mali to the second-place of last year's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, a tournament where he deservedly made the All-Star Five.

Can Mali wonderkid Kanoute replicate his success with Mali's senior team?

"I can't change my good habits of winning titles. I keep the same attitude from my early days with the youth national teams," Kanoute told FIBA.basketball.

Kanoute is expected to be one of the youngest players on the Mali team in Kigali this week, but how significant is this moment for him? 

"It's huge," he replied. "It is a great pride for me to be able to play with the seniors at this age and I will do my best to make an impact for the team."

He continued saying, "The most important thing for me right now is the opportunity to try to find my space and become a regular with the senior team."

As for Mali's Group D opponents, Kanouted noted: "There will be some good games because there are some good teams involved. They will be interesting to watch, for sure."

And although Mali have been a regular FIBA AfroBasket participant, they last reached the Semi-Finals in 1999 when Kanoute wasn't even born. 

Yet, Kanoute, who currently plays for France's SLUC Nancy, isn't shy to put his money on his teammates. "We have a very competitive and good team. I think, as a team, we have a lot of quality and I am sure we are going to have a very good tournament," he explained when asked to describe this Mali team.

With Mali's recent success in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, Kanoute believes basketball is becoming more and more popular back home. "It is true that basketball was not as popular but I hope people start to get interested and I hope it will continue to improve even more in coming years," he concluded.

FIBA