Syracuse basketball has interest in former 5-star center in transfer portal

Syracuse basketball coaches are showing interest in Oklahoma State transfer Moussa Cisse, a former five-star center and a top-10 national prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to a report.

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein said via Twitter that Cisse is currently receiving interest from a range of high-major programs, including the Orange, Ole Miss, UCF, Cincinnati, Kansas State, LSU, UCLA, TCU, Memphis, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Per Rothstein, Cisse recently did a Zoom meeting with Ole Miss, and he was scheduled to have a Zoom with Cincinnati this past Thursday.

The 7-foot-1, 216-pound Cisse, who is from Conakry, Guinea, was a junior for Big 12 Conference member Oklahoma State during the recently completed 2022-23 term. On April 9 of this year, he said on Twitter that he would be entering the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Syracuse basketball is reportedly displaying interest in Oklahoma State transfer center Moussa Cisse.

In 2022-23, per ESPN statistics, Cisse averaged 22.6 minutes, 6.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest, while connecting on 58.2 percent from the field but just 41.0 percent from the free-throw line.

This past stanza, the Cowboys went 20-16 overall, losing in the NIT quarterfinals last month to North Texas. In that 65-59 overtime setback, Cisse tallied 13 points and seven boards on 6-of-6 shooting from the field.

As a sophomore at Oklahoma State in 2021-22, he was named the Big 12 defensive player of the year. Cisse started his college career at Memphis, where during his rookie season with the Tigers in 2020-21, he received the American Athletic Conference’s freshman of the year award.

Before joining the Tigers, Cisse was rated as a five-star, top-25 national player by the majority of recruiting services as a member of the 2020 cycle. He attended the Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tenn.

Per recruiting Web sites, during his recruiting process while in prep school, Cisse picked up more than 15 scholarship offers, with his offer sheet, besides Memphis, including Florida State, Alabama, Connecticut, Georgetown, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, St. John’s, Texas A&M, UCLA, Southern California and Virginia.

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranked Cisse as No. 9 nationally, No. 2 at center and No. 1 in Tennessee within the 2020 class.

With senior Jesse Edwards electing to enter the transfer portal not too long ago, Syracuse basketball coaches appear to be focused on potentially landing a veteran center for their 2023-24 roster.

The Orange, to date, has reportedly shown interest in several transfer centers now, including Cisse, Michigan junior Hunter Dickinson and North Texas junior Abou Ousmane.