Nation’s best available center will make decision next week. Does Kentucky have a shot?
It was no surprise when Moussa Cisse — one of the best frontcourt players in high school basketball — announced this week that he had decided to reclassify to 2020 and play in college next season.
That move had been expected. Cisse also revealed that he will announce his college decision next week, an earlier-than-anticipated end to his much-followed recruitment. The 6-foot-10 center — a native of the West African nation of Guinea and now living in the Memphis area — recently narrowed his list to Kentucky, Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Louisiana State and Memphis. He will pick one of those schools next week, and LSU has emerged as the clear consensus favorite for his commitment.
Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans logged a Future Cast prediction in favor of the Tigers last fall. In recent days, he’s been joined by fellow Rivals national analyst Eric Bossi, as well as 247Sports recruiting experts Evan Daniels and Brian Snow, who are all picking LSU.
“I’ve been there since October about LSU, and I’m not changing that now,” Evans told the Herald-Leader on Thursday. “All the intel I’ve gathered is ‘LSU, LSU, LSU.’ They’ve done a really good job of laying the foundation, up to the possibility of reclassification to 2020, which now is in effect. I think LSU is the team to beat.”
Despite Coach Will Wade’s ongoing NCAA issues, LSU is in a strong position for Cisse, who Rivals.com placed as the No. 13 overall player in the 2020 class following his reclassification decision this week.
Wade already has six commitments for his 2020 class — including five-star guard Cam Thomas — and the Tigers’ incoming group is ranked No. 6 nationally, according to Rivals.com.
UK Coach John Calipari extended a scholarship offer to Cisse early in the process and watched him play for his Memphis high school multiple times this past season, but UK is not considered a frontrunner. Evans said he gives the Cats a “minute” chance of landing the promising center.
“You never know,” he said. “And you’ve seen these kind of recruitments — they can change on a whim. I’m always going to leave somewhat of a hole there and leave some room for Kentucky to make up, because it’s Kentucky. And they need someone like Moussa. But, as of now, if it ended today, it’s not going to be Kentucky.”
Kentucky already has commitments from highly touted power forwards Isaiah Jackson and Lance Ware, and the Cats are still waiting on the outcome of transfer Olivier Sarr’s request to the NCAA for immediate eligibility. If Sarr — a 7-footer who starred at Wake Forest last season — is granted that eligibility, UK would likely have all it needs for next season’s roster. If Sarr’s waiver is denied, the Cats could have a major hole in the frontcourt with (seemingly) no realistic options to fill it this late in the recruiting calendar.
Tough cycle for Memphis
Perhaps the program hurt most by Cisse picking LSU — if that indeed happens — would be Memphis, which is the star recruit’s de facto hometown school after moving there from New York last summer. Missing out on Cisse, who was considered somewhat of a Memphis lean after his move to the city, would be another blow in a rough recruiting cycle for the Tigers.
Last year, Coach Penny Hardaway landed the nation’s No. 1 class. For 2020, the only high school recruit to pick Memphis has been three-star post player Ahmad Rand.
Jalen Green — the No. 2 player in the Rivals.com rankings — acknowledged that he would’ve picked Memphis if he hadn’t decided to accept the G League’s offer to play professionally next season. Evans sees the Tigers as the second choice in Cisse’s recruitment.
“He’s been around the program a lot,” he said. “That’s the program that he’s most familiar with. He’s been to several games. He’s only taken one official visit — to Florida State. He’s been on an unofficial visit to Kentucky, but he was probably at six or seven Memphis basketball home games this past year. So I just think that relationship he built with Penny Hardaway and his coaching staff definitely does not hurt Memphis’ chances.”
Hardaway has landed a couple of highly touted transfers — Landers Nolley and DeAndre Williams — this offseason, but missing out on Cisse would mean a total five-star whiff for Memphis after building the nation’s No. 1 class in 2019.
Whichever school lands Cisse will be adding a transcendent defensive talent. If LSU gets him, he could be a handful for Kentucky next season.
“From a defensive playmaking standpoint, I’m not sure you can do better than him,” Evans said. “He’s someone that can really change the entire complexion of a game without having a single play called for him. He has that Nerlens Noel mold to him. There are questions about his offensive abilities at times, but, defensively — his instincts, his timing, his quick leaping skills, his motor — it’s all there.
“Over the past several years, I haven’t seen many better than what he does defensively.”
