2021 Draft Watch: First Look at Moussa Cisse

September 9^th, 2020

By Alan Lu

This time around, I decided to take the time to watch Lausanne Collegiate School’s 6-10 high school senior center, Moussa Cisse play against Surge Christian in a high school basketball game that took place on December 13^th, 2019, as I was able to see this with thanks to YouTube via The Grind Session.  Cisse recently reclassified to be in the 2020 recruiting class, so he will be eligible to enter the 2021 draft if he opts to do so.  I took the time to watch him play, as he is an athletic, energetic big man that could project to go in the first round next year.  In this game, he played very well to help get his team a well-earned victory over Surge Christian.  Here are my thoughts on how he fared, as well as how his game may translate to the NBA.

Moussa Cisse is an athletic, energetic big man that excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He can play with verticality, and he can consistently finish plays above the rim.  He would often catch lob passes off cuts and in transition to score on alley-oop dunks, and he also would catch long passes to score on powerful jams.  He also did a good job of absorbing the contact to draw fouls upon his defenders to get to the free throw line often, and he also scored on a crafty reverse layup after getting an offensive rebound.

He also showed off solid low post scoring skills.  He is an effective scorer on the block that can command a double team, and he would often score on turnaround jump hooks and he also use crafty moves with the ball to score around the basket.  Sometimes though, he would set up from too far away, and he would occasionally overtly force up tough shots that would lead to misses.

He also showed an adequate ability to score off the dribble.  On one play, he drove hard to the hoop, and he used an overhead ball fake to draw free throws on a runner.  Plus, Cisse showed the potential to develop his face-up game.  He was able to knock down a turnaround jumper from the right elbow to display his ability to make mid-range jumpers, but he missed on an open corner three early on.

On the downside, Cisse was quite turnover prone in this game.  For the positives, he showed some ability to handle the basketball, and he can throw passes off the dribble to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  He can push the ball up in the open court to find teammates out on the break, and he also used a behind the back dribble move to find an open teammate on another possession.  However, he likes handling the basketball quite a bit, sometimes perhaps to the detriment of his team’s offense.  He has a tendency to want to handle the ball into traffic, as he would tend to over-dribble and get it poked away or lose the ball to commit turnovers.  Sometimes he will try fancy dribble moves or a spin move, and he once lost his footing to lose the basketball.  He tried hard to be the team’s point forward at times, as he will try to handle the ball amidst heavy ball pressure, but he tended to struggle to do so.

Also, Cisse did a magnificent job of rebounding the basketball.  He would frequently leap up to haul in boards on both ends of the floor, as he especially excelled at collecting defensive rebounds.  Sometimes, he would bring the ball up the court off of defensive rebounds, and he was able to score and get free throws off of put backs to provide his team with second chance points.

Plus, he also played very good defense in this game.  Cisse is a fantastic shot blocker that possesses good length, athleticism, and timing to swat numerous shots around the basket.  He would often rotate to block shots in the post and off of drives to his teammates, and he is a rangy defender that can cover a lot of ground to do so.  He also caught an opponent’s dropped pass to get a steal, and he will play passing lanes to get steals and deflections.  Also, he did a good job of staying in front of his man and contesting shots when defending opponents off the dribble to force misses.  On the downside, sometimes he can overplay his man, as he over-pursued an opposing ball handler and then got beat off the dribble, which allowed his man to pass to a three-point shooter to set up a score.  On another play, he sagged too far off his man, and allowed him to score on a mid-range jumper.  After blocking one shot, and forcing a miss on a put back, he then allowed another offensive rebound before fouling his man while allowing a put back score simultaneously.

In general, Moussa Cisse is a talented prospect that could go in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft.  His ability to score, rebound, and defend could enable him to be one of the best prospects in next year’s draft class.  He recently reclassified to be in the 2020 recruiting class, and the Memphis Tigers will be certainly pleased to have added him to their roster.  He has all the tools to end up being a successful player in the NBA, and he could end up being a solid role player at that level similar to former veteran center, Samuel Dalembert in the association.

Other Notes:

IPFW’s incoming 6-8 freshman forward, Johnathan DeJurnett had a solid showing for Lausanne Collegiate School in his team’s win over Surge Christian.  He is an athletic, energetic combo forward that is a solid finisher around the basket, and he also is a good rebounder and defender on the court.  He looked to be the second best athlete in this game, and he could really elevate his game offensively if he improves his ability to knock down jumpers and score on isolation plays.

DeJurnett is a very good scorer on the break, and he excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He runs the floor very well, and he would often beat his man down court.  He would catch long passes, as he was able to score on a layup, and he also scored on a high-flying, one-handed dunk while getting an extra free throw afterwards.  However, he was thrown a bad lob pass late in the game, and he was unable to score on an alley-oop dunk attempt that time.  In addition, he also managed to receive the ball on a backdoor cut, and he then drew free throws to get to the free throw line.

Plus, he also showed a decent ability to score off the dribble.  He showed a solid ability to change directions, as he was able to drive in to score on a thunderous dunk.  On a separate possession though, he drove in and used a hesitation move, but then missed on a rushed layup.  DeJurnett didn’t really look to take jumpers from outside of the paint area nor did he take many shots on offense, but he was able to draw a non-shooting foul handling the ball in the mid-range area early on.

He also displayed decent playmaking skills.  DeJurnett can throw long passes to find teammates ahead on the break to set up scores for them, and he can throw accurate interior passes to notch assists.  He also was able to set an on-ball screen to help get his teammate open on a drive to set up a score for him.  However, late in this game, he threw an inaccurate pass that ended up getting intercepted.

Also, DeJurnett did a fairly good job of rebounding the basketball.  He would leap up aggressively to get boards on both ends of the court, and he was quite active at crashing the glass to help his team get rebounds.

Adding to that, he played solid defense in this game.  DeJurnett possesses solid length, athleticism, and anticipation skills to get steals and blocks.  He was able to rotate to block a shot off of a drive to a teammate, and he also ran in to intercept a pass to get a steal later on.  He also will use his length to contest jumpers to force misses.  However, there was one play where he sagged too far off his man, which led him to allow an opponent to score on a three-point shot.

In summary, Johnathan DeJurnett is an athletic, energetic combo forward that can make solid hustle plays to help his team on both sides of the ball, and he could project to be a defensive specialist if he ends up making his way to the NBA sometime in the future.  He will need to improve his jump shot and be more assertive on offense, but he is an intriguing prospect, as he is a good athlete whose defensive versatility could allow him to be an effective role player for teams at higher levels.

Holy Cross’ 6-5 incoming freshman guard, Bo Montgomery played fairly well for Lausanne Collegiate to get his team the win over Surge Christian.  He excelled at attacking the basket, and he generally showed off solid all-around skills in this game.

He did a good job of scoring on hustle plays.  Montgomery is a good athlete that runs the floor well, and he would often score on fast breaks.   In this game, he managed to score on a high-flying dunk, and he also caught a lob pass to score on an alley-oop layup another time.  Plus, he also ran in to score on a tip slam, and he also can often score on strong put backs after leaping up to get offensive rebounds.  He also has good speed to score on dries in transition, as he can use nifty dribble moves to score on acrobatic layups.  Sometimes, he can be prone to rushing his shots in traffic, which can lead to misses.  He also struggled to score on half-court drives or mid-range jumpers, and he also missed on a three-point shot on a separate play.

Also, Montgomery displayed decent playmaking skills.  He is a tall point guard that can throw solid interior passes to find cutters and teammates in transition, and he is an unselfish player that can rack up assists.  He can throw accurate lob passes and outlet passes to find teammates in stride, and he can quickly get them the basketball.  On the downside, he was also quite turnover prone on offense.  Sometimes though, he would throw inaccurate passes that would go astray, and he also would sometimes commit careless ball-handling mishaps that would lead to turnovers.

Plus, he did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  Montgomery would often chase down balls to get rebounds on both ends of the floor, and he would tend to push the ball up the court after getting defensive rebounds.

Also, he played solid defense in this game.  Montgomery would apply heavy ball pressure to force his man to commit a passing turnover that led to an over and back violation, and he also blocked a shot off of a drive to himself due to possessing good timing, athleticism, and instincts.  Plus, he also was able to poke a ball away to nearly get a steal, and he also will contest shots to force misses.  However, sometimes he can struggle to guard his man off the dribble, as he may commit fouls and allow scores on occasion.

Overall, Bo Montgomery is an athletic, skilled combo guard that can make highly energetic plays to help his team on both ends of the floor.  He will need to improve his jump shot and take better care of the basketball, but he is an intriguing prospect that may possess plenty of upside as a prospect for the NBA, and he could be a player to watch in the future.

Surge Christian’s 5-9 high school sophomore guard, C.J. Devine played very well in his team’s loss to Lausanne Collegiate.  He is an athletic, skilled combo guard that can knock down spot-up threes, and he also can score off cuts and in transition.  He was able to run the floor to score on a high-flying dunk, and he also can score on fast break drives.  However, he struggled more to score on half-court drives, as he had his shot blocked once.

He’ll need to improve his playmaking skills, though.  While he can find cutters and kick balls to shooters off the dribble, he didn’t look to pass too often, and he didn’t seem to collect many assists in this game.  Sometimes though, he would occasionally commit careless ball-handling turnovers on offense.

Also, he was able to get a rebound on each side of the ball.  Devine also played decent defense.  He will play passing lanes and jump on loose balls to get steals and deflections, but sometimes he can struggle to guard opponents off the dribble.

Overall, C.J. Devine had a good game on this day, and his ability to shoot, score, and defend could enable him to be a legitimate NCAA Division 1 prospect in the future.  He will need to improve his facilitation skills and show that he can guard taller players, but his athleticism and scoring ability could make him a player to watch in the future.

Alabama A&M’s 6-4 incoming freshman guard, Eric Lee showed some interesting set of skills for Surge Christian in his team’s loss to Lausanne Collegiate.  Though he really struggled to make jumpers, and he showed off impressive athleticism, and he was able to make some solid plays on both ends of the floor.

Lee showed a very good ability to score in transition.  He was able to drive up the court to score on a high-flying dunk, and he will run the floor to get scores on the break.  He also managed to score on a floater on a half-court drive, though he would also miss shots when trying to score in traffic.  He also was unable to knock down jumpers from outside the paint area, and he really had trouble in trying to make three-point shots in this game.

He also displayed solid playmaking skills.  Lee did a good job of finding open shooters, as he can throw accurate passes off the dribble to set up scores for them, and he can find them in stride to do so.  However, on one play, he dribbled into a trap, and he had crossed past mid-court, but then threw a pass into the backcourt that led to an over and back violation. Also, he was able to get his fair share of rebounds, as he would leap up to crash the glass to get his team defensive boards.

Plus, he also played decent defense in this game.  Lee would quickly jump passes to get a plethora of steals for his team, and he would poke balls and deflect passes to make things difficult on his opponents.  Plus, he also managed to block a shot when defending a drive, and he is a good athlete that can make numerous plays on the ball.  However, he also tended to commit fouls, as he would be prone to committing reach-in fouls, and he would sometimes get beat on plays that would lead him to commit touch fouls. Overall, Eric Lee is an athletic, skilled combo guard that can finish plays above the rim, and he also possesses above average playmaking and defensive skills.  He will really need to improve his jump shot, but he is a player that could be a solid player for Alabama A&M, and he could be a prospect to watch sometime down the road.