What does Mady Sissoko’s departure mean for Michigan State basketball?

On Thursday afternoon, senior center Mady Sissoko announced that he would be entering the transfer portal. He had the option to return for a fifth season with his extra COVID year, but he opted instead to use that extra season at a new program.

So what does this mean for Michigan State?

I first want to say that I'm sad to see Mady leave. Even if it might be the best thing for both parties, he is one of the best humans to ever come through the program and was an amazing advocate for the university. That being said, his departure now sets Michigan State up for a huge offseason.

The biggest need for MSU this offseason was a transfer portal center. It would have been extremely difficult to find one if Mady decided to stay in East Lansing. If he returned, there would have been too many mouths to feed down low for any of the elite big men to want to come to East Lansing. Those guys want to go somewhere there's a lot of playing time to offer, and MSU wouldn’t be able to offer that with Sissoko back. But since he is gone, Tom Izzo can now offer any big in the portal a lot of playing time if they choose to come to MSU.

Similar to any portal player, the other bigs on the roster will have more chances to develop now as well. Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper likely aren’t going anywhere, but they each will now get more opportunities to prove themselves with more playing time.

I wish nothing but the best for Sissoko and hope it works out for him wherever he ends up, but now that this decision is final things are going to get interesting for MSU. Will Izzo use this as a way to improve the roster? I know we all hope so, so let’s see if he will choose to work any of his magic in the portal.