Michigan State Basketball: Mady Sissoko would give starting 5 high ceiling

Mady Sissoko has sky-high potential and Michigan State basketball’s 2020-21 starting five might have the highest ceiling with him in it.

All aboard the Mady Sissoko hype train.

With Xavier Tillman moving on to the NBA, leaving a massive void in the post where a Big Ten defensive player of the year once resided, there’s going to be one heck of a battle for minutes at center in the starting five.

The overwhelming feeling is that Marcus Bingham Jr. will assume that role because he’s a veteran and this is his year to prove himself. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve always been on the Bingham Jr. train and think that he can become something special in East Lansing when he realized his potential. I still feel that, but I believe the starting five will have its highest ceiling this winter and spring with Sissoko playing center.

Also, that doesn’t mean Bingham Jr. can’t play alongside him at power forward, but there’s a very slim chance that Joey Hauser doesn’t assume that starting role.

Either way, a post with Bingham Jr. and Sissoko protecting the rim would be scary.

Back to Sissoko, though.

While he’s not the most polished offensive player, he would give Michigan State a potential force down low, especially if Dwayne Stephens works with him enough (which he will). Tillman didn’t always have the best post moves or scoring touch without an open lane either, so this won’t be much of a drop off, especially if he can eat offensive boards and go back up strong with it.

Defensively, Sissoko is a freak rim protector with incredible bounce and athleticism. This means he can recover quickly and he’s not exactly a small guy, either. He stands 6-9 and 230 pounds and his wingspan is well over seven feet. He’s going to be a problem on defense.

It might not be Tillman good, but Sissoko is going to be an elite rim protector at some point and that might be his calling card early on.

Defense will come more naturally to him early on than offense and that’s something Bingham Jr. might need to improve on — and gain some muscle on that frame.

If Michigan State is going to have an elite team at the end of the year with Final Four potential, Tom Izzo might want to consider starting Sissoko from day one.

I mean, just look at how this kid plays.

Oh, and rumblings about his bounce being elite? Yes, please.

https://twitter.com/PeachJames_/status/1306684060656336896?s=20

Please, start this man.