Ousmane Cisse (born 20 October 1982) is a Malian retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Standing at 6' 9" he played both

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions. In 2005-06 he was the top rebounder in the Israel Basketball Premier League, as well as the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year The Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year, or Israeli Basketball Super League Defensive Player of the Year, is an award given to the best defensive player of each season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is th ...

High school

He moved to the United States from Mali in 1998, and studied at Montgomery Catholic High School in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, where he and his teammates won the 2A State Championship. In his first appearance as a Catholic Knight, he broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association's record for blocked shots in the first half against Horseshoe Bend. In his sophomore season in high school he posted averages of 20 points, 15 rebounds and 9 blocks per game. He later attended St. Jude Catholic High School in Montgomery, where he transferred to in 1999, and he sat out the 1999–2000 basketball season. In his last year of high school basketball he averaged 29 points, 16 rebounds and 12 blocks, and was widely regarded as one of the best prospects of his class. He drew interest from many high-profile college programs such as

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

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Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, but after graduating he signed up to the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001, in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizar ...

and was selected as a 47th pick overall by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

(he was however the 46th player to be selected, as the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

forfeited their 29th overall pick).

NBA career

After he was signed by the

, he had an injured knee and therefore did not pass the physical tests, and the Nuggets released him. He then moved to Russia in 2002 before playing for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. After a year he returned to play in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

signing with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. Ousmane was released just after one preseason game and moved to play in the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

. In 2003, he signed with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

and was released after a couple of days, without ever playing with the team. Cisse ended up never appearing in an NBA game and is one of 8 players drafted in 2001 to never play a game in the league. Of the High School Draftees from 1995 to 2006, he is one of only two. along with

Ricky Sánchez Ricardo "Ricky" Sánchez Rosa (born July 6, 1987) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player who most recently played for Grises de Humacao of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers out of IMG ...

4 years after Cisse, who never played a game in the league. He moved to play in the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

after his release during 2003 and stayed to play there until the 2004–05 season was over, playing for the

Fayetteville Patriots The Fayetteville Patriots were an NBA Development League team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. Franchise history In 2001, the Fayetteville Patriots became one of the National Basketball Development League's eight charter fr ...

International career

Cisse started his international career when he signed at

Bnei HaSharon Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. History The club w ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for the 2005–06 season. He led the league in rebounds (10.1 per game) and blocks (2.5), but the team finished only in the 9th place. He was also named the

. Ousmane then stayed three more seasons in Bnei HaSharon reaching the State Cup final in the 2006–07 season and finishing at the 3rd place in the Israeli League in 2007–08.

National team

Cisse's only appearance on

FIBA Africa Championship The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa, played once every four years. ...

was in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

where his stats were 6 PPG, 5 RPG and 1 BPG in 7 games, averaging 15.8 minutes per game.

Notes

External links

NBA.com Draft Profile
@ HoopsHype.com
Safsal profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cisse, Ousmane 1982 births Living people 21st-century Malian sportsmen APOEL B.C. players Basketball players from Bamako Bnei HaSharon players Denver Nuggets draft picks Fayetteville Patriots players Harlem Globetrotters players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Malian expatriate basketball people in Cyprus Malian expatriate basketball people in France Malian expatriate basketball people in Israel Malian expatriate basketball people in Russia Malian expatriate basketball people in the United States Malian men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans NBA high school draftees Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players Power forwards