2020 five-star center Moussa Cisse postpones decision

by:Jack Pilgrim06/05/20
[caption id="attachment_268926" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Photo: Jon Lopez/Nike[/caption] The plot thickens with the top available center in the class of 2020. Five-star center Moussa Cisse, who announced last week he would be reclassifying from 2021 to 2020, has postponed his college decision. At the time of his reclass announcement, Cisse told reporters he would be choosing a college at some point this week. Now, the 6-foot-10 center is pushing back his decision due to the ongoing protests and social unrest in the United States. With social unrest and injustice a big topic in the United States, Cisse thinks it would be insensitive to make a commitment right now. "It’s bigger than basketball what’s going on right now," a source close to Cisse told 247Sports. "We are to wait until things calm down a little bit. ... It's hard to say now [when a decision will come] as the situation is unpredictable." When a decision does come, Cisse will ultimately decide between Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Memphis. Regarding the likely landing spot, LSU is the overwhelming favorite on Cisse's Crystal Ball, with eight of 11 picks coming in favor of the Tigers. Two of the other picks have the elite shot-blocker landing at Memphis. “I am trying to find the best way to the NBA,” Cisse told ESPN last week. “I want to see how my college career will go, but if I do well, I will definitely try to make a move to the NBA. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to compete at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp scrimmages because of Tennessee rules. I was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit, which was canceled, and I missed playing in the EYBL again this summer, so I will try to catch up with what I lost in college and make sure NBA teams learn more about me. I have a lot of work to do.” After reclassifying to the class of 2020, Cisse is now ranked No. 9 overall and the No. 2 center in the nation, with Evan Mobley being the lone center ranked ahead. “Blocking shots is a gift for me,” Cisse said. "I’ve never worked on it. It comes from my motor and my energy. I like to win and playing defense helps, but I can do more than that.” Cisse, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound big man originally from Guinea, moved to the United States in 2015 and has been living in Memphis since last summer. He took an unofficial visit to Kentucky back on October 11, 2019 for Big Blue Madness, and hosted John Calipari in back-to-back weeks in December.

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