Kadiatou Sissoko stood on the perimeter and eyed the basket. She jabbed, twitched, faked. Everything but shoot. Down low, Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi muscled with a Miami defender. The jabs didn’t work as neither defender budged. Sissoko had a shot — the same one she hit attempt after attempt in practice the day before — but maybe Djaldi-Tabdi had a better one.

Sissoko’s forced pass to the inside, and the ensuing glare from Djaldi-Tabdi in the Orange’s 84-71 loss to Miami in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 23, exposed the rawness in Sissoko’s offensive game. But recent games have also provided a glimpse at the burgeoning skills that her knee injury stunted. Her past three games have featured a 1-of-6 performance, eight failed attempts from beyond the arc, a streak of seven-straight points and her first career 3-pointer. But before she can find “consistency,” she needs more time.

“I need to develop my skills more,” Sissoko said. “I need to train.”

Sissoko, No. 18 Syracuse’s (17-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast) 6-foot-1 guard-turned-forward — the No. 11 recruit in 2019 according to espnW, who gained buzz in the preseason when a photograph showed her above the rim, seemingly primed to dunk the ball — has showcased her skills since her return on Jan. 17. She’s shot 5-for-16, but added a 4-of-6 performance in SU’s win over Virginia. On Jan. 23, Sissoko said that she is “85 (percent)” back. After the Orange’s win against the Cavaliers, she said she’s at full health.

The freshman said that improving her health was her biggest goal, the tallest barrier between her and the best version of her on-court self. As she develops her complementary skills, Sissoko’s performance against Virginia gave a peek at her fullest form.

“I’m kind of tall and versatile. I can do both. I can shoot the ball. I can play in the paint. I can drive. I can run,” Sissoko said. “I’m very aggressive and I need to be able to shoot the ball because sometimes they wait for me to shoot the ball because they know that I’m aggressive and stuff.”

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Sissoko started the season with an established trait: her size. Assuming Gabrielle Cooper’s role at the top of the Orange’s full-court pressure, her long arms and quick feet disrupted offenses ability to get up the court — especially against lesser teams like North Dakota, Bucknell and Kansas State, when she racked up three steals in the three games. But between a nine-point performance against North Dakota in the season opener, an 85-49 blowout win from SU and an eight-point outing against Kansas State, the freshman scored just seven points in three games, shooting 2-of-9.

Then, against Princeton, Sissoko hop-stepped defending above half court. The guard changed direction and Sissoko’s knee buckled as she slid up court. She fell to the ground and, suddenly, her growth stopped.

“She’s still getting back,” Gabrielle Cooper said on Jan. 29. “You’re not going to jump into a rhythm like that.”

She received surgery to repair her left knee when the Orange returned to Syracuse from the Cancun Challenge, and was a non-participant in practice until early January. She tried to do all she could: shooting, dribbling, anything to keep the time off from being wasted. But every drill that involved movement got “in (her) head” and she exercised caution when working back to form, Sissoko said. After all, she had to relearn everything.

Just under three weeks prior to her return, she participated in a limited capacity in practices. Sophomore forward Digna Strautmane often shot after team drills, so Sissoko, Veronika Vorackova, Emily Engstler and Marie-Paule Foppossi all joined in. From there, the freshman added 30-minute shooting sessions before and after practice. Sissoko said she tried to shoot 200 times each drill and focused on only one type of shot — 3-pointers one day, midrange another — to manufacture consistency. By the week of her return, she knocked down multiple-straight 3-pointers in practice with a crisp form.

The Orange slowly worked Sissoko back, but come their bout with Miami, Miranda Drummond was hampered by a “freak” calf injury and Sissoko was placed in the starting lineup. She showed flashes of her old self — a putback on an offensive rebound that led to a shooting foul — but reinforced some early-season struggles with a clank against the bottom of the backboard on a layup and an overall hesitance with the ball on the perimeter. Multiple times, Sissoko was given free space beyond the arc as Miami defended the drive and either forced a pass inside or gave up the ball to the top of the key.

“That’s a shot she has to take. Kadi is a great player, she’s been out for only two months and she’s played a total of 11 minutes in two months,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said after SU’s loss to Miami. “She’ll get back in the flow and she’ll make shots and she’ll be aggressive.”

She followed it with a quiet showing against Duke after joining the reserves, but against Virginia, Sissoko showed her full repertoire. A three from the left corner. A floater in the lane. A layup on a drive from the perimeter. After seven-straight points, the Orange finally saw the height of Sissoko’s offensive game. While the 3-pointer remains “not her best shot,” she is still working to regain all of her per-injury athleticism.

She hasn’t dunked since she was 15 — the photo earlier in the season was only “close” — but once she’s back, she wants to introduce that to her game, too.

“I’m just focusing on getting back,” Sissoko said, “and after I will see (about) dunks.”

Published on February 3, 2019 at 7:28 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary