Michigan State Basketball: Projected depth chart/rotation for 2023-24 season

Center: Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper

Mady Sissoko: 5.1 ppg / 6.1 rpg / 61% fg

Typically, the senior year for a former top-forty-ranked freshman is the year that the hard work pays off and potential is met as the player prepares for the next level. In the case of the 6 foot 9 center from Wasatch Academy, due to the return of so many players, his role will remain mostly the same. With zero three-point attempts during his first three seasons with the Spartans, Sissoko’s primary contribution will be on the defensive end and on the boards.

Sissoko was fourth in total rebound percentage, although his rebounds per game placed him fourteenth. On the offensive end, Sissoko will continue to set high screens for Hoggard and Walker then roll to the basket in hopes the ball-handler gets him the ball close to the rim.

Despite showing some creativity around the basket in high school, if Sissoko does not have a clear path to the rim he will kick out to the perimeter, where the ball will be promptly swung for an eventual three-pointer and Sissoko will not even get the assist.

Carson Cooper: 1.5 ppg / 6.6 mpg

The sophomore is 6 foot 11 and his able to finish at the rim. He is not going to create his own shot, his baskets come from the dish when his man leaves to help, or when he concludes a pick-and-roll with an alley-oop dunk. There is some speculation that Cooper will not only be able to cut into Sissoko’s minutes but supplant him as the starting center prior to season’s end.

Neither player moves the needle offensively, but neither are required to with the presence of Hoggard and Walker. The presence of Kohler, however, may move everybody’s minutes downward.