Cisse Earns Preseason Watch List Honor
Springfield, Mass. — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the 20 watch list members for the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, and Oklahoma State’s Moussa Cisse was selected as a candidate for the honor.
Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor, in its eighth year, recognizes the top centers in men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.
The 2021 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, Cisse joined the Cowboys this offseason after starting every game for Memphis as a freshman in 2020-21. There, he helped the Tigers to a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title.
Cisse averaged 6.3 rebounds and 1.64 blocks per game, which ranked seventh and second in the AAC, respectively. Instinctive on the offensive glass, Cisse ranked fifth among all players in the AAC with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.
A three-time AAC Freshman of the Week, Cisse rejected a total of 46 shots (in just 28 games), which ranked 37th in the country and tops in his conference. He led the Tigers with four double-doubles and had six double-digit rebounding games, including a 14-rebound performance against Auburn that included 10 offensive boards.
No slouch on the offensive end, Cisse shot 55.2 percent from the floor and averaged 6.6 points per game. He opened his collegiate career with 10 points against Saint Mary's, and counts a career-best 15-point performance at East Carolina among his seven double-digit scoring games. Cisse shot 66.7 percent from the floor and blocked 2.0 shots per game during Memphis' run to the NIT championship.
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in voting for each of the three rounds. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the award will be narrowed to 10 and then in late February to just five. In March the five finalists will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where a winner will be selected.
Voting for fans is set to open on Oct. 22.
The winner of the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a date to be determined later, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award.
Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award include two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).
2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates*
Walker Kessler Auburn
Nick Muszyinski Belmont
Mark Williams Duke
Colin Castleton Florida
Chet Holmgren Gonzaga
Kofi Cockburn Illinois
David McCormack Kansas
Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky
Ahsan Asadullah Lipscomb
Qudus Wahab Maryland
Jalen Duren Memphis
Hunter Dickinson Michigan
Armando Bacot North Carolina
Moussa Cisse Oklahoma State
Nate Watson Providence
Zach Edey Purdue
Osun Osunniyi St. Bonaventure
Myles Johnson UCLA
Fardaws Aimaq Utah Valley
Liam Robbins Vanderbilt