Ousmane Cisse (born October 20, 1982 in Bamako, Mali) is a Malian professional basketball player who currently plays for APOEL in Cyprus. He is a 6'9" 235 lb forward. (He is not the player of the same name who played for Eastern Illinois University from 2006–2010.[1])
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Ousmane Cisse studied at Montgomery Catholic High School in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S., 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 block shots in the first half against Horseshoe Bend. He later attended St. Jude Catholic High School in Montgomery, and after graduating he signed up to the 2001 NBA Draft and was selected as a 46th pick overall by the Denver Nuggets.[2]
After he was signed by the Denver Nuggets in 2001. He was injured and released, and then he moved to the Harlem Globetrotters. After a year he returned to play in the NBA after signing with the Orlando Magic. Ousmane was released just after one game and moved to play in the USBL. In 2003, he signed with the Toronto Raptors and was released after a couple of days, without ever playing with the team.
He moved to play in the NBDL after his release during 2003 and stayed to play there until the 2004–05 season was over, playing for the Fayetteville Patriots.
Cisse started his international career when he signed at Bnei HaSharon in Israel for the 2005–06 season. He had a great individual season, leading the league in Rebounds (10.1 per game) and blocks (2.5), but the team finished only in the 9th place. Ousmane then stayed three more successful 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.
Cisse's only appearance on FIBA Africa Championship was in 2005 where his stats were 6 PPG, 5 RPG and 1 BPG in 7 games, averaging 15.8 minutes per game.
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