New girl sounds promising


NORMAN – University of Oklahoma head women's basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk announced Thursday the signing of Daffa Cissoko (DAFF-uh sis-SO-ko), a 6-4 forward from Saint-Maurice, Paris, France, to a financial aid agreement.

Cissoko is set to join the Sooners as a freshman for the upcoming season. She spent her prep years with Pays Voironnais Basket Club (PVBC) in France's LIGUE 2 professional league.

"We're so excited to have Daffa join our program," Baranczyk said. "She's a great player with incredible length and athleticism, and she never stops working on the boards. Our fans will love the energy and spark that she brings. She's been playing against professionals in France, so she's ready to make an impact here in Norman. We can't wait for her to get here and be part of our OU family."

Cissoko is the younger sister of Sidy Cissoko, a two-way player with the Portland Trail Blazers, and the daughter of Yaya Cissoko, who represented Senegal in men's basketball at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

With PVBC, she helped guide the team to a U18 national championship in the Champions de France tournament this year, going a perfect 10-0.

Cissoko joins an Oklahoma team ranked in the offseason top 10 by both ESPN and The Athletic. She becomes part of a talented and versatile roster that includes four McDonald's All-Americans: All-SEC standouts Raegan Beers and Payton Verhulst, former five-star recruit Sahara Williams, and Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class.

Cissoko joins Ireland's Emma Tolan to give the Sooners multiple international players for the first time since 2018-19. She also becomes the first player from France in program history.

OU women's basketball season tickets are on sale now and start at just $99 for general admission.

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I have searched also and haven’t found any videos…or even stats. So I guess we will have to wait for practice when school starts.
 
Several folks eat that crow… “10 players”
Coaching staff is losing it… what’s Jenny doing…. Spent all our money on one player….

I’d still expect 1 more for sure
She's a body with size, yes. But she has no video or stats posted anywhere. If she's needed this year, things are bad.

She needs a year or 2 to adjust. But she's likely athletic, and has good size to build on.
 
She's a body with size, yes. But she has no video or stats posted anywhere. If she's needed this year, things are bad.

She needs a year or 2 to adjust. But she's likely athletic, and has good size to build on.
I got a feeling that she will be able to play from Day 1. France is really good in women's basketball. The US beat France in the Olympics Final in 2024 67-66. It is shortsighted to discount players from Europe. She is from a basketball family that has been playing the sport for the past 30 years. I guarantee you, basketball is a way of life for her family. Her brother was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NBA Draft. Her Dad played for Senagal in the 1980 Olympics. There is more basketball going on in that family than just about any family in the USA. Plus, if Jennie says that she can play, I believe her. She knows what she is doing. I have a think that OU is going to recruit internationally from now on.
 
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