Michigan State Basketball: Breakdown of newcomers for 2020-21 season
By Ben Dickson
Michigan State Basketball newcomer – Mady Sissoko
Mount Pleasant, UT – Center – 6’9″, 230 lbs
Should Xavier Tillman leave for the NBA, Mady Sissoko is a player who can step in and contribute high-quality minutes right away. As a top-40 player nationally and the best player in Utah, Sissoko gives Spartan fans something to be excited about.
Playing his high school basketball for Wasatch Academy, Sissoko posted solid numbers in 43 career games. While his 12.2 PPG might not be jumping off the stat sheet, his 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest definitely do (stats per MaxPreps). Watching film, his aggressive rebounding and especially his rim-protecting pops off the screen.
In addition, it is clear that Sissoko has great athletic ability. Not only do his powerful rejections show that, but his rim punishing dunks and post moves demonstrate his strong finishing skills in the paint. Sissoko is a little raw, as are most high school recruits entering their freshman year of college, but he should be able to develop nicely under Tom Izzo and his coaching staff.
Whether Sissoko starts right away depends on Tillman’s potential return to East Lansing and the development of rising junior Marcus Bingham amongst other factors. Regardless, the Spartans’ frontcourt should be in good hands and Sissoko should be ready to play in the Big Ten right away.