Moussa Cissé

Moussa Cissé
Cissé with Ole Miss in 2024
No. 32 – Memphis Tigers
PositionCenter
LeagueAmerican Athletic Conference
Personal information
Born (2002-09-10) 10 September 2002 (age 22)
Conakry, Guinea
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight229 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High school
College
Career highlights and awards

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

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 recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Moussa Cissé
C 		Conakry, Guinea Lausanne Collegiate School (TN) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jul 15, 2020 
Star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 14  247Sports: 12  ESPN: 24
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Memphis 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  • "2020 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.

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

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Memphis 28 28 18.6 .552 .000 .324 6.3 .5 .3 1.6 6.6
2021–22 Oklahoma State 29 26 20.0 .559 – .562 6.5 .3 .4 1.3 7.2
2022–23 Oklahoma State 32 20 22.6 .582 – .410 8.0 .6 .3 1.2 6.8
2023–24 Ole Miss 26 17 17.6 .558 .000 .263 4.6 .3 .7 1.4 4.5
Career 115 91 19.8 .564 .000 .415 6.5 .4 .4 1.7 6.3

References

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