Report: LSU Basketball Target Moussa Cisse Reclassifies to 2020 Class, Has Tigers Among Favorites
Will Wade has said he's looking for one more big man to fill out the 2020 roster and if he can land Moussa Cisse, the Tigers would have a scary good roster in 2020.
Cisse, originally a 2021 recruit, told Jonathan Givony of ESPN on Wednesday that he'd be graduating a year early and reclassifying to the 2020 class. Currently a five-star prospect on most recruiting sites, Cisse is the No. 3 ranked center according to 247Sports.
Boasting a 7-foot-4 wingspan, Cisse dominated the high school basketball ranks in Tennessee, averaging 18.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 9.2 blocks per game while winning a state championship and winning the state's Mr. Basketball award.
"I will get my high school diploma as soon as I finish the last two core classes I need to qualify, which should happen next week," Cisse told Givony.
Cisse plans on making his commitment next week and will be choosing between LSU, Kentucky, Florida State, Georgia, Memphis and Georgetown. The 6-foot-10, 220-pound prospect wasn't able to take an official or unofficial visit to LSU because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"In terms of my college decision, I'm looking for a good explanation of how I am going to be used," Cisse said. "I'm not worried about starting, or minutes. If I work hard that will take care of itself."
The Tigers have already produced one of the top recruiting classes in the country, headlined by Cam Thomas and also feature fellow freshmen Jalen Cook, Bradley Ezewiro, Mwani Wilkinson, Eric Gaines. Georgetown transfer Josh Leblanc and UCLA transfer Shareef O'Neal add further depth to a frontcourt that could be losing Emmitt Williams, Trendon Watford and Darius Days.
Those three underclassmen, along with guard Javonte Smart, each put their hats in the NBA draft but Wade has said he does expect as many as three of those players to return to school. Williams is the only one of the four that plans to hire a non-NCAA approved agent while the others plan too keep their NCAA eligibility.
If LSU is eventually able to retain a combination of Smart, Days and Watford or possibly all three, it would have the makings for the deepest most talented roster Wade has produced while the head coach of the Tigers.
"It'd look like a major contender on a national scale," Wade said. "That's what we're after and that's what we're very, very close to doing. I think we'll have a team that competes at the top of the SEC and in the top-10 to 15 nationally. I think if things break like we hope, we could have three double digit SEC starters and scorers back and if you add [our recruiting class] you're in real business now."
