By ADAM ZAGORIA
Moussa Cisse, the 6-foot-10 big man from Memphis (TN) Lausanne Collegiate School, has officially reclassified to the Class of 2020 and will enroll in college this summer and then be eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft.
“I’ve decided to reclassify to the 2020 class,” Cisse told ESPN. “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.”
The former Christ the King (N.Y.) big man lists Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Memphis. He cut Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee and USC from his previous list of 10.
Prediction: LSU https://t.co/X9GT9YLrKI
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 27, 2020
Class of 2020 ⏫⏫ decision is real soon
— Moussa Cisse 33 (@moussacisse224) May 27, 2020
Cisse is the latest high-profile Class of 2021 player to reclassify to 2020 and thus speed up his NBA Draft clock.
Former Patrick School (N.J.) power forward Adama Sanogo announced he would reclass and attend UConn.
His former teammate, Jonathan Kuminga, is also working on his schoolwork to reclassify and is considering Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech in addition to the NBA G League.
All three are from Africa: Cisse is from Guinea, Kuminga from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sanogo from Mali. Thus their entrance to the NBA will increase the African presence in the league, which is currently highlighted by players like Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam (Cameroon).
Cisse, who averaged 18.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 9.2 blocks per game last season, is anxious to get to the next level in college.
“College and high school are very different,” he told ESPN. “Reclassifying is going to help me playing against better competition. I’ve been playing in open gyms in Memphis against top college players like James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa and saw that I can compete against them. Playing against older and more experienced players in college will speed up my development.”
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