“As a team player, you’ve got to know your role and what the coaches are asking you to do,” Sissoko said Monday before practice at the Cronin Center. “You’ve got to be able to stay ready. Every time I get on the court, I’m just trying to impact winning, whether it’s by grabbing rebounds or playing defense or pick-and-roll coverages.”
On Friday in Dayton’s 53-51 victory against Rhode Island, Sissoko had three rebounds, three points and two steals in eight minutes. His 3-point play in the first half gave him 40 points for the season in 18 appearances. Last season, his first on the court after redshirting in the 2019-20 season, he scored 20 points in 14 games.
“Mou’s a hard worker,” Dayton forward Toumani Camara said. “He sticks to what he does. He doesn’t go out of character. His competitiveness is huge. He’s my roommate, so he’s like a brother to me. I mean everyone’s like a brother to me, but I’m really close to him. It’s been hard for him because he didn’t play much lately, and every time, I try to keep him motivated. He’s been doing a great job, and that makes me happy so much to see him play and be able to play hard every time and get some minutes and get some results out of it.”
Sissoko was the first player off the bench Friday, replacing DaRon Holmes II at the 15:55 mark. He left the game five minutes later. He doesn’t often play in the second half, but with Holmes and Camara in foul trouble, he played three minutes in the second half against Rhode Island.
In Dayton’s other game last week, a 68-61 victory against Fordham on Tuesday, Sissoko played only in the first half and had four rebounds in four minutes. He scored his only two points at the free-throw line.
The small contributions add up for a Dayton team that needs its role players, especially with the bench shortened by Lynn Greer III’s decision to transfer to Saint Joseph’s after non-conference play ended and the recent wrist injury suffered by Elijah Weaver, who has missed the last two games.
“The last game against Fordham, he had a big impact on the game,” Dayton coach Anthony Grant said Friday. “I thought he did the same thing tonight. I thought he was he was really, really good. To me, the biggest improvement for Moulaye is just understanding to be ready when the opportunity presents itself, and that’s hard sometimes when you don’t play as consistently as maybe you would like or some of the other guys are playing. But I’m proud of the fact that he keeps himself ready in terms of understanding the scouting report, in terms of understanding systematically what we’re out there trying to do and then also understanding how to play to his strengths and how to go out and impact the game with what he does.”
Sissoko averaged 9.6 minutes per game last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury late in the season. This is the first season he has played in front of a full UD Arena, though he was on the bench as a redshirt throughout the 29-2 season of 2019-20.
“They’re amazing fans,” Sissoko said. “UD fans are the best in the world. We can’t thank them enough. They’re supporting us every day, every night no matter what the outcome is.”
WEDNESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Virginia Commonwealth, 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network, 1290, 95.7
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