Three-Point Play: Moussa Cisse; two '21 guards to watch
The timeline for Moussa Cisse reclassifying and picking a college has sped up as he is on the cusp of his commitment. In the latest Three-Point Play, Rivals analyst Corey Evans presents the latest on Cisse and his upcoming decision and also takes a look at two Rivals150 junior guards that remain under the radar, to a degree.
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CISSE CLOSING IN ON DECISION
One of the shoes dropped on the Moussa Cisse front on Wednesday as news broke that he would be reclassifying into the 2020 class, a move that we have long predicted. The next step is a college commitment from Cisse, one that will be made sometime next week.
We don’t know for certain who will celebrate the recruiting victory, but it will come down to a group of six that consists of Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Memphis. The tea leaves are not easy to read because Cisse has only taken an official visit to Florida State. He took unofficial visits Kentucky and Memphis this past winter.
Making the move into the 2020 Rivals150 as the 13th-ranked prospect in America, Cisse is a complete game-changer that is one of the five best playmaking defenders that I have evaluated in recent years. Wherever he lands will see its ceiling for success next season raised considerably.
I have long speculated he will pick LSU, and I first placed a FutureCast in favor of the Tigers in October. The intel that I have gathered since the fall has not changed my stance. Sure, a lot can still play out until he announces, but for now Will Wade’s team is my pick. If it all plays out as expected, LSU will have a roster that should be viewed as a national title contender for the upcoming season.
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STEVIE MITCHELL IS A RARE BREED IN THE 2021 CLASS
Stevie Mitchell is the best prospect to come from the Reading, Pa., area since Lonnie Walker. To say that Mitchell is underrated is not quite fair to those recruiting him. However, I do have a fairly good feeling that if he could compete on the travel circuit this spring his offer list would be more expansive.
A 6-foot-2 lead guard that just completed his junior year at Wilson High School in eastern Pennsylvania, Mitchell was expected to break out last month. There is already a limited number of high-major lead guards in the 2021 class, and Mitchell was supposed to be one of the few that could have used such small numbers to his advantage in improving his stock nationally.
Boasting an electric first step, tremendous playmaking abilities off the bounce, explosiveness at the basket (where he is good for a posterizing a defender every now and again), and a calm demeanor in the backcourt, Mitchell brings plenty of value to the court. He has been unable to take any college visits, and due to the pandemic he might wait until the spring to sign, which is a good omen for those that may need a lead guard for next year.
Georgia Tech, Marquette, Miami, St. Joseph's, Stanford and Temple are the six that Mitchell feels have prioritized him the most in recent months. Still relatively wide open with his recruitment, I’d expect more high-major programs to enter the picture and his Rivals150 ranking to improve in the weeks ahead, regardless of whether or not a travel season begins.
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WADE TAYLOR HOPING FOR HIS CHANCE
Like Mitchell, Wade Taylor was another Rivals150 guard in the 2021 class who was expected to see his recruitment expand this spring. From the talent-laden Dallas-Fort Worth area, Taylor may still have a slither of a travel season, but it will pale in comparison to the opportunities that he would have received if not for the pandemic.
In the meantime, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M, SMU and Virginia Tech are the schools that Taylor feels have made him a priority of late. Of the group, just SMU and Texas A&M have offered, though that could change if an evaluation period is granted later this summer.
If on-campus recruiting remains a non-starter, at least Taylor has had the chance to visit a handful of schools. Over the past several months, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU and Texas A&M have brought him to their campuses.
Earlier in the week, I placed a FutureCast for Texas A&M, but a timeline toward a decision remains unclear. For those that need a quick burst of energy and shot-making, Taylor remains a worthy option, which is to say that his recruitment could soon see a bump, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of his current suitors do their part to shut things down before things get out of hand.