Michigan State senior center Mady Sissoko enters transfer portal
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State center Mady Sissoko has entered the transfer portal, sources at On3 have confirmed. As a fourth-year senior at Michigan State this past season, Sissoko started 26 games, but lost his starting role late in the season and came off the bench in nine games.
Sissoko averaged 15.3 minutes and 3.3 points per game while ranking second on the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game.
Sissoko’s role decreased significantly as his senior season progressed. He played 18 or more minutes in five of the first six games.
He played 19 or more minutes in 10 of the first 18 games, including a season-high 24 minutes it what proved to be a crucial victory over Indiana State on Dec. 30.
However, Sissoko played single-digit minutes in seven of the last 10 games, including a season-low one minute in Michigan State’s victory over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.
However, he played 17 strong minutes in a victory over Mississippi State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo lauded Sissoko’s performance in that game.
“When we talked to Mady about going back to scout team, and get some confidence back, and asking him, ‘Do you really want to be here? Do you want to do this?’ And boy when he answered like he did, he’s had three really good games in a row in a lot of ways,” Izzo said on March 21 after the Mississippi State game.
He followed that up with perhaps his best four-minute shift of the season, if not his career, with four points and three rebounds early in the North Carolina game in the Second Round as Michigan State built a 12-point lead. However, Sissoko finished with only eight minutes played in that game, which likely will mark his final appearance in a Spartan uniform.
As a junior at Michigan State during the 2022-23 season, Sissoko started all but one game and averaged 21.4 minutes per game. He averaged 5.1 points and 6.1 rebounds and led the team with 28 blocked shots.
Sissoko (6-9, 250) came to Michigan State from Wasatch Academy in Utah. He is a native of Bafoulable, Mali, West Africa.
He was ranked the No. 35 recruit in the country in 2021 by ESPN and was No. 36 overall and No. 7 among centers by 247.
(More analysis coming shortly).
Mady Sissoko scores on a turn-around jumper during Michigan State’s loss to North Carolina in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Jim Dedmon | USA Today Sports.)
