Kadi Sissoko enters the transfer portal

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Kadi did not work on her game this offseason, she still can only dribble right, hence all the charges. She is a physically gifted player that if she goes to a highly rated team, I'm afraid she is going to see erratic minutes unless a coach can get to her and change her ways.
She seems like a great kid, but struggled for most of the season. She has had some good stats in games, unfortunately that should be the expectation not the exception.
 

yikes.. saw the other ones coming honestly.. but this one hurts to be honest.. I know she wasn't great for a good chunk of the year.. but the last 3-4 game she was really coming around..

with this we are going to have to find some players ourselves in the transfer portal now..
 

stating the obvious - if the head Coach of the Gopher women was named Lindsay Smith or Lindsay Brown, there would be a LOT of heat over the W-L record and the number of players transferring out of the program.

Each player may be transferring for their own reason, but collectively, it just doesn't look good when players don't want to play at MN.

If Whalen is going to survive, she needs to produce some positive results.
 


We now need to replace five of our top six conference scoring leaders. Its a big gap between Scalia at 19.4 points/game and Alanna Micheaux at 4.6
 

Let’s hear the excuses… everything will be the players fault I am sure 🤷🏾‍♂️. Yes in this case the player has some fault
 

short ornery norwegian said:
stating the obvious - if the head Coach of the Gopher women was named Lindsay Smith or Lindsay Brown, there would be a LOT of heat over the W-L record and the number of players transferring out of the program.

Each player may be transferring for their own reason, but collectively, it just doesn't look good when players don't want to play at MN.

If Whalen is going to survive, she needs to produce some positive results.
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see BUT we aren't the only programs having kids transfer out.. Illinois just had 3 transfer out (before the new coach was even hired) Penn State lost 2 kids again..
 




Hey, as she's shown the last couple of years, she likes to "travel".
 

Not sure how to feel about losing her. She seems to be very gifted athletically, but I never got the feeling that she worked on her game much in the offseason. (I could be wrong with that.) But in all her time here, she never really improved her shooting much, especially her jump shooting. She was in frequent foul troubles and she turned it over a lot. Didn't show a high basketball IQ. All those things being said, some of the blame for her lack of development has to also go to the staff. And her loss will mean that the Gopher staff has yet another hole to try to fill in the transfer portal.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
stating the obvious - if the head Coach of the Gopher women was named Lindsay Smith or Lindsay Brown, there would be a LOT of heat over the W-L record and the number of players transferring out of the program.

Each player may be transferring for their own reason, but collectively, it just doesn't look good when players don't want to play at MN.

If Whalen is going to survive, she needs to produce some positive results.
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Is there really not any heat on Lindsay? I think there is more heat on her because her name is Lindsay Whalen. If this were any other coach they would have been put out of their misery already. Plus I have to say it’s women’s basketball, so no offense, but it’s not exactly a headline grabber with all the sports stories we have in the twin cities.
 

I am disappointed to see Kadi leave. When she is playing well, she is a wonderful player to watch and a big weapon on the team. However, she gets into frequent foul trouble and can't play enough minutes. I would not want a player who is not happy to stay on a team. However, I have misgivings about the Transfer Portal. It is the free agency of college sports. Players can shop around and find the best team that has roster space and scholarship money. I think the rich get richer and the weak teams cannot get better. Universities pretend that athletes are scholar-athletes. Many are only athletes and they get a lot of benefits/privileges that other students do not get. If you are a junior non-athlete and you transfer to another school, some of your credits will not transfer or satisfy major requirements at the new school; thus, you lose time towards graduation. I can imagine that Athletic Departments have ways of getting all credits transferred for athletes. Let's see, Basket Weaving will transfer as History 101 and Weight Training will transfer as Mathematics 101 (the weights have numbers), etc. There are some merits to making athletes sit out a year before playing. One is that they may think about whether their current situation is unbearable. Second, if they do transfer, maybe they will be able to spend some time on academics in their gap year and stay on track to graduate. But, in the mean time, the Transfer Portal is the game, and the Gophers need to learn to play.
 



She never could reach her full potential here, but sad to see her go. It will be interesting if her new coaches can get her to thrive. I agree with Walleye on the transfer portal comments. At first I was all for it but now I’m not so sure. The free agency seems to favor the blue bloods programs getting stars and impact players, while teams that are lower in the pecking order seem to get role players. Until the Gophers start winning and looking like a team competing for championships this is going to continue. Whalen has some talent coming in, hopefully they can turn this program around.
 

with this news of Kadi, there are no upperclassman left, so I'm not convinced Scalia wont be next.
 


bball_craz_26 said:
How is Scalia not an Upperclassman? Also have you talked to her? or her family? or ANYONE who would say she would leave... or just assuming?
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your right I meant to say Scalia is the last of the upper classmen that came in together.

Not assuming she is leaving... just wondering what is going through her head as one by one, players she had the longest relationship with have left.
 

MNGirlsHoops said:
your right I meant to say Scalia is the last of the upper classmen that came in together.

Not assuming she is leaving... just wondering what is going through her head as one by one, players she had the longest relationship with have left.
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Couldnt you say this about every program though? How many programs wont have multiple transfers? College sports are in a weird spot. Kids need to do whats best for them so I never have a problem with anyone transferring but I look at Pitts when she transferred there was alot of people on here saying good for her shes now going to a powerhouse program, well she ended the year as a bench player for a 14-15 (4-13 in conference) A&M team. Instead of going down as one of the best shooters/scorers in Gopher history she ended up a bench player for the worst A&M team in almost 20 years, the grass isnt always greener. Scalia is putting herself in position to be one of the best to play here if she does stay.
 

Best wishes to Kaddi, where ever she ends up. I have to say she was very frustrating to watch. I agree with comments above about her limitations. So athletic yet a good example that athleticism does not make a good basketball player. I'm thinking of Rodney Williams. Traveling, offensive fouls both for trying to get to the basket in spite of a defender in front of her and for failing to understand that a player can't move once a pick is set (how many times did we see that this season and then watch her head to the bench?) This had to drive the coaches nuts. As stated above, low basketball IQ. I would think some players in the transfer portal will want to come here now given the quality of the incoming freshmen. Or won't they want to come thinking they won't play?
 

Another thing the Gophers are losing is Sissoko's 90 turnovers in 33 games played with 27 games started. To be clear, she was good and wished she stayed, all things considered.

Gophers also lost Jasmine Powell's 59 turnovers in 19 games played with 18 starts. Powell also struggled with a .322 field goal shooting percentage. I don't pretend to know what happened there.

gophersports.com

3-20-2022-season 22 gophers wbb (7) - University of Minnesota Athletics

3-20-2022-season 22 gophers wbb (7)
gophersports.com gophersports.com
 

We haven't lost those turnovers yet. They may crop up elsewhere. Micheaux had 43 turnovers in just over half of Sissoko's playing time while Alanna compiled 39 fewer assists than Kadi. :)

Plus Micheaux committed 80 fouls to Sissoko's 87.
 

If this team doesn't get an impact commit soon, we are looking at a team of high school players with a poor head coach that will be trying to play in the BIG10 next season. I'm sure this team would be thrilled to have a player of Sissoko's ability on the roster - even with her turnovers.
 

CoachJD said:
If this team doesn't get an impact commit soon,
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It doesn't matter when, just as long as we get more impact players.
CoachJD said:
we are looking at a team of high school players
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Nope, by all measures they will be college players, young, maybe, but still college.
CoachJD said:
with a poor head coach
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:rolleyes:
CoachJD said:
that will be trying to play in the BIG10 next season. I'm sure this team would be thrilled to have a player of Sissoko's ability on the roster - even with her turnovers.
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Most teams would be thrilled to have Sissoko on their team but not elite teams. I believe she still has WNBA potential. I see Sissoko and Scalia on 2 different ends of the spectrum, Sissoko has unlimited potential based on her athleticism she just needs to develop it. Scalia has developed her elite scoring ability but she is already close to her ceiling because she doesn't have the same level of athleticism to unlock.
 

Sissoko was not a good basketball player this year. She couldn’t dribble, pass or shoot. Hopefully she unlocks her athleticism so she can master those basic basketball skills. She didn’t move her athletic feet to play defense either. She is 23 years old already she is what she is.. unfortunately
 

Roland Brooks said:
Sissoko was not a good basketball player this year. She couldn’t dribble, pass or shoot. Hopefully she unlocks her athleticism so she can master those basic basketball skills. She didn’t move her athletic feet to play defense either. She is 23 years old already she is what she is.. unfortunately
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She really game on the last handful of games and did a better job of dribble driving into the paint to score. Anytime she played with her back to the basket and tried to do a spin move her shot was often waaaayy off. She would release her shot before her head got around to see the rim. I don't have a strong impression of her defense.

You are probably right that she will never become an elite basketball player, it would seem if she practiced her game enough she would at least be getting close to elite.

This is where I thought Scalia's interview with Doogie was telling, she mentioned her good buddies on the team were Jasmin and Sissoko, they just happen to be the other 2 best players on the team. At the same time according to Scalia's dad Sarah wanted to play with people willing to work as hard as her. Clearly Sissoko didn't work as hard as her because her development has been awful slow, as you have noted. It was never noted that anyone else on the team worked similarly hard to Scalia (it was mentioned multiple times by Whalen how hard Scalia worked) so this further tells me that Scalia's definition of hard worker, good teammate, wanting to win, is a teammate who is one of the better basketball players.
 



247sports.com

USC women's hoops picks up third transfer commitment

Lincoln Riley isn’t the only one that has been active in the transfer portal at USC this offseason.
247sports.com 247sports.com

Lincoln Riley isn’t the only one that has been active in the transfer portal at USC this offseason. Women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb has also been trying to overhaul her roster.

The Women of Troy lost five players to the transfer portal after the completion of Gottlieb’s first season at USC where the Trojans went 12-16 with a 5-12 mark in Pac-12 play. Gottlieb has slowing been adding pieces back to the roster and nabbed another on Wednesday when 6-foot-2 wing Kadi Sissoko announced her commitment to the Trojans on Instagram:

Sissoko transfers to USC from Minnesota where she averaged 10.8 points and 1.4 assists per game last season while playing in 33 games and making 27 starts. She led the Golden Gophers with 5.7 rebounds per game, grabbing 70 offensive boards (2.1 per game). She finished the season strong, averaging 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds her final six games of the season. Sissoko went off for a career-high 32 points against Penn State, adding 14 rebounds. She also had 14 rebounds to go with 18 points to help Minnesota win its opening game of the WNIT.

A native of Paris, France, Sissoko has quite the sojourn to SoCal. While she will arrive after three seasons at Minnesota, Sissoko began her career at Syracuse. A member of the French U18 and later U20 women’s national teams, Sissoko was one of the top prospects in the 2018 recruiting class ranked the 10th overall player and No. 2 guard by ESPN.


At Syracuse, she had a minor knee surgery that caused her to miss some time her freshman year. Sissoko played in 22 games with one start and averaged 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds while playing 9.6 minutes per game. She decided to transfer after one year with the Orange and landed at Minnesota where she had to sit out the 2019-20 season due to the then-NCAA transfer rules. Sissoko averaged 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds her first season on the court with the Gophers, leading the team in field goals and rebounds per game.

Sissoko will be a fifth-year junior with two years of eligibility remaining. She adds size to the wing and should give the Women of Troy another scoring option after leading scorer Jordyn Jenkins transferred to UT San Antonio.

Gottlieb has picked up two other transfers this offseason, landing 6-foot forward Koi Love from Arizona and picking up 5-foot-7 point guard Kayla Williams from UC Irvine

Like Sissoko, Love will be on her third school. She played in 28 games with the Wildcats last season after spending her first two seasons at Vanderbilt where she earned All-SEC Freshman honors. She led the Commodores in scoring at 13.7 points as a freshman and averaged 20.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in eight games before Vandy opted out of the 2020-21 season

Williams was the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 after leading the Anteaters in scoring, assists and steals. She followed that up by averaging 15.5 points with 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game last season to earn her second All-Big West first-team selection. Williams led the ‘Eaters to a 21-12 record, tying a school record for wins and earning the program’s first ever WNIT bid.

The transfers will join five-star McDonald’s All-American high school signee Aaliyah Gayles as new additions. Gayles is currently recovering after being shot 10 times at a house party in Las Vegas.
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usctrojans.com

Kadi Sissoko Joins USC Women’s Basketball As Transfer Addition - USC Athletics

The forward was Minnesota's leading rebounder the past two seasons.
usctrojans.com usctrojans.com

LOS ANGELES —USC women's basketball welcomes another important newcomer in Kadi Sissoko, a forward who comes to the Trojans as a grad transfer from Minnesota, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has announced. A native of France, Sissoko has international experience as well as significant collegiate playing time as a starter with the Golden Gophers.

"From the moment I connected with Kadi, I knew I wanted to coach her," Gottlieb said of Sissoko. "She is a dynamic young person who brings a positive aura and winning mindset to our program. Her athleticism is elite, and her skill set has been developed internationally and here in the US. She is a special player who will shine in the Pac-12, and will be such an important part of our team. Her poise and experience coupled with her basketball talent is going to be on display right here in LA."

The 6-2 Sissoko started 46 games and led the Gophers in rebounding in two seasons of work at Minnesota. She averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and recorded four double-doubles last season as a redshirt junior. As a redshirt sophomore, Sissoko averaged 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. She began her collegiate career at Syracuse as a true freshman before making the move to Minnesota in 2019. As a Golden Gopher, Sissoko was an impact player while also earning Academic All-Big Ten accolades as a communication studies major.

A member of France's Under-20 and Under-18 national teams, Sissoko was ranked as the No. 10 overall player in the 2018 recruiting class, according to ESPN.

Sissoko is now one of three new Trojan additions for 2022-23, joining fellow transfer Koi Love along with true freshman Aaliyah Gayles.
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