Tigers land a ‘big get’ with Lausanne’s Cisse

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Terry Davis

With several schools awaiting Moussa Cisse’s decision about where he would play college basketball, the Lausanne Collegiate School star chose the University of Memphis.

The waiting list also included Florida State, Louisiana State University, Georgetown and Kentucky,.

Cisse was scheduled to be a part of the Class of 2021 before doing the necessary things to graduate a year early. He ranked in the top 10 of the Class of 2021. The No. 9 ranked player in Class of 2020, he is rated first among the nation’s centers.

For Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, Cisse is a big get. The six-foot-ten-inch-tall center is from New York City, where at various times he played with Lester Quinones and Precious Achiuwa. Quinones returns for his sophomore year with Memphis. Achiuwa is headed for the NBA.

Cisse, who is considered one of the top defensive players in the country, is known for his shot blocking ability and defending the rim. That’s a plus for the Tigers’ up-tempo game.

Several weeks ago, it looked as though Cisse was heading to LSU. Down the stretch, Memphis closed the gap, with most national recruiting analysts adjusting their projections to put the Tigers at the top of his choices.

Memphis’ successful recruiting of Cisse came after losing out to Jaylen Green to the G-League and Greg Brown to the Texas Longhorns.

Hungry to return to the NCAA tournament, the Tigers moved forcefully in the right direction with Cisse, who will join with returning veterans and the possibility of some talented incoming graduate transfers.

Cisse led Lausanne to a Tennessee State Championship last season and was selected as Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball for Division 1.