Moussa Cissé Explained

Moussa Cissé
Position:Center
Height Ft:7
Height In:0
Weight Lbs:230
League:American Athletic Conference
Team:Memphis Tigers
Birth Date:2002 9, df=yes
Birth Place:Conakry, Guinea
High School:
College:
Highlights:

Moussa Cissé (born 10 September 2002) is a Guinean college basketball player for the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference. He previously played for the Ole Miss Rebels of the Southeastern Conference and the Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the best centers in the 2020 class.

Early life and high school career

Cissé was born in Conakry, Guinea, and lived there until age 14, when he moved to New York.[1] He had grown up playing soccer.[2] Cissé started playing high school basketball for St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey, playing alongside Precious Achiuwa.[3] For two years, he played for Christ the King Regional High School in Queens, where he was teammates with Kofi Cockburn.[4] As a sophomore, Cissé led his team to the Class AA state title game.[5]

For his junior season, he transferred to Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee.[6] On 25 November 2019, Cissé recorded 31 points, 22 rebounds and 21 blocks, surpassing the Shelby County single-game blocks record held by Mitch Omar since 1976–77.[1] He led Lausanne to the Division II-A state championship, where he was named most valuable player after posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks against First Assembly Christian School.[5] As a junior, Cissé averaged 18.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 9.2 blocks per game, earning Division II-A Tennessee Mr. Basketball honors.[2] He broke Michael Wilson's single-season city record for blocks per game set in 1989–90.[1]

Recruiting

Cissé was a consensus five-star recruit, according to major recruiting services, and was considered a top 10 player in the 2021 recruiting class.[7] On 27 May 2020, he announced that he would graduate from high school a year early and reclassify to the 2020 class, where he remained a five-star recruit.[2] On 15 July, Cissé committed to play college basketball for Memphis. He was drawn to the program by head coach Penny Hardaway and former high school teammate Precious Achiuwa, who had played for Memphis in the previous season.[8]

College career

At Memphis, Cissé posted his first double-double on December 2, 2020, scoring 14 points and securing 10 rebounds in an 83–54 victory over Arkansas State.[9] In his freshman year, he averaged 6.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, earning American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors.

On April 6, 2021, Cissé declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[10] He later withdrew from the draft and entered the transfer portal. On July 15, 2021, he transferred to Oklahoma State, choosing the Cowboys over Florida State, Georgia and Kentucky.[11]

In his sophomore year, Cissé was named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year, alongside Baylor’s Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and West Virginia’s Gabe Osabuohien.[12] He averaged 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.[13] As a junior, he was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.[14]

After the 2022-23 season Cissé entered the transfer portal for a second time, later committing to play for Ole Miss over offers from UCLA and Cincinnati.[15]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Memphis| 28 || 28 || 18.6 || .552 || .000 || .324 || 6.3 || .5 || .3 || 1.6 || 6.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma State| 29 || 26 || 20.0 || .559 || – || .562 || 6.5 || .3 || .4 || 1.3 || 7.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma State| 32 || 20 || 22.6 || .582 || – || .410 || 8.0 || .6 || .3 || 1.2 || 6.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| style="text-align:left;"| Ole Miss| 26 || 17 || 17.6 || .558 || .000 || .263 || 4.6 || .3 || .7 || 1.4 || 4.5|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 115 || 91 || 19.8 || .564 || .000 || .415 || 6.5 || .4 || .4 || 1.7 || 6.3

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Varlas . John . When it comes to Lausanne's Moussa Cisse, seeing is believing . The Daily Memphian . 27 May 2020 . 19 December 2019.
  2. Web site: Givony . Jonathan . Touted basketball recruit Moussa Cisse reclassifying to 2020 class . . 27 May 2020 . 27 May 2020.
  3. Web site: Munz . Jason . Five-star Moussa Cisse commits to Memphis basketball, bolstering Penny Hardaway's frontcourt . . 15 July 2020 . 15 July 2020.
  4. Web site: Cordova . David . Christ the King Stakes Their Royal Claim Around The City . Dave's Joint . 27 May 2020 . 21 January 2018.
  5. Web site: Thompson . Khari . Moussa Cisse's dominant second half leads Lausanne to Division II-A state title . . 27 May 2020 . 7 March 2020.
  6. Web site: Thompson . Khari . High school basketball: 5-star forward Moussa Cisse transferring to Lausanne . . 27 May 2020 . August 14, 2019.
  7. Web site: Benjamin . Daniel . NCAA Basketball: Top 10 prospect Moussa Cisse considering reclassifing, down to 10 . Busting Brackets . 27 May 2020 . 17 April 2020.
  8. Web site: Givony . Jonathan . No. 24-rated prospect Moussa Cisse commits to Memphis basketball . . 15 July 2020 . 15 July 2020.
  9. News: Nolley II carries Memphis over Arkansas St. 83–54 . July 18, 2021 . . . December 2, 2020.
  10. News: Fowler . Christian . Moussa Cisse declares for 2021 NBA Draft, maintains NCAA eligibility . July 19, 2021 . . April 6, 2021.
  11. News: Givony . Jonathan . Moussa Cisse transferring to Oklahoma State after one season of Memphis basketball . July 18, 2021 . . July 15, 2021.
  12. News: Lederman . Eli . Cisse named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year; OSU's Anderson, OU's Noland earn conference honors . March 11, 2022 . . March 6, 2022.
  13. News: Unruh . Jacob . Oklahoma State star center Moussa Cisse announces return for 2022-23 season . March 6, 2023 . . March 11, 2022.
  14. News: Nagel . Cody . Oklahoma State forwards Kalib Boone, Moussa Cisse earn All-Big 12 honors . March 6, 2023 . 247 Sports . March 5, 2023.
  15. Web site: 2023-05-14 . Center Cisse commits to transfer to Ole Miss . 2023-08-13 . ESPN.com . en.