East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team has received signed National Letters of Intent from AJ Hoggard (Coatesville, Pa./Huntington Prep [W.Va.>) and Mady Sissoko (Bafoulabe, Mali, West Africa/Wasatch Academy [Utah>).
"It's an exciting day for us here at Michigan State, announcing the commitments of AJ (Hoggard) and Mady (Sissoko)," Head Coach Tom Izzo said. "Mady is a guy everyone will love. He's got a little bit of Tum Tum (Nairn) in him that he just appreciates the world he's in and appreciates people. In AJ, he brings the toughness that I think this program has stood for. I fell in love with him watching him on the bench in a game, he's such a good leader, he communicated. AJ fits in well with our guys and brings a lot to the table.
✅ SIGNED ✅⠀ ⠀ Welcome to the family, @ajhoggard!⠀ #SpartanDawg
A post shared by Michigan State Basketball (@michiganstatebasketball) on Nov 13, 2019 at 10:44am PST
"We're not done recruiting yet. We've got two down and maybe one or two to go, but this was a great start for us here and I'm excited with the two guys we've signed."
AJ Hoggard (G, 6-3, 220, Coatesville, Pa./Huntington Prep [W.Va.>)
Played at Archbishop Carroll in Philadelphia before transferring to Huntington Prep for his senior year … Comes from the same prep school as former MSU All-American Miles Bridges … Hoggard is ranked No. 71 nationally by 247Sports.com and No. 13 among all point guards … At Archbishop Carroll, Hoggard was a first team All-Catholic selection … He averaged 15.6 points as a junior, leading the team to a 20-8 record and the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals.
"AJ Hoggard comes from Coatesville, Pa., home of Rip Hamilton, who helped train him a little bit, and he goes to Huntington Prep, home of Miles Bridges. There are some good genes there. AJ is the kind of guy we're looking for here, a tough, rugged, 6-3, 220-pound player who can play multiple positions. He can play some point, he can play some two and he can play some three. What is he? He's a basketball player. And we think a tough player who brings some of the attributes we like."
Mady Sissoko (C, 6-10, 215, Bafoulabe, Mali, West Africa/Wasatch Academy [Utah>)
A native of Bafoulabe, Mali, West Africa, Mady Sissoko (Mau-DEE Si-SO-ko) averaged 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as a junior at Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah during the 2018-19 season … A 6-10 center who has a 7-4 wingspan, Sissoko is ranked No. 35 in the ESPN Top 100 and the Nike Top 100 Elite … Rated the No. 36 overall player and No. 7 among centers by 247Sports.com … Also plays for the Vegas Elite and Jimmer Elite (Utah Mountain Stars) … Sissoko has been in the United States since 2016 … Sissoko will be Michigan State's first player from Africa since Idong Ibok, a native of Nigeria, played from 2005-09.
"Mady Sissoko is a 6-10 jumping jack, a guy that we think will be an excellent addition. Maybe one of the great rebounders of all-time and we consider ourselves a little bit as Rebounder U with the number of national titles we've won over the years here. Mady brings that to the table. He's an incredible rebounder. When the ball goes up, he goes up. He runs like a deer. He's got a lot to him as far as energy and he's a well-conditioned athlete. I hope he'll put on a little more weight, but he's really strong for his size. Mady is from Mali, West Africa and came over and he's been at Wastach in Utah and we think his back home brings a work ethic beyond belief and at Wastach, they've done an incredible job with him as he's improving each and every year he's been there."
