Most of his adult life the homeland of Eastern Illinois sophomore center Ousmane Cisse has been rocked by civil unrest. Starting with the first of two political coups in 1999, a civil war has endured in the small African nation since 2002.
Cisse hails from the southwest African country the Ivory Coast or Cote d'Ivoire as the French speaking nation prefers to be called. He is from the largest town in the country - Abidjan - with a population listed near 3.4 million people.
From that turmoil has come success for the 6-8 Cisse in the form of basketball. He is currently listed as one of six players at the NCAA Division I level that are from the Ivory Coast. The others are Fred Kounkorgo of IUPUI, Jean Francois Bro Grebe of Marshall, Jean Michel Yotio of Central Florida, Desire Gabou of Western Kentucky and Bass Yessoufou of St. Francis (NY). Cisse is familiar with all of these players having played with many of them on teams in the Ivory Coast.
"I played with or against all of those players when I was growing up," Cisse said. "There are also many others from the Ivory Coast who are playing at other NCAA and NAIA levels."
Playing basketball to escape turmoil at home seems to be a common theme surrounding players from the Ivory Coast. Instead of disrupting the desire to participate in sports, social unrest has actually driven more young people to participate in sports.
"Parents seem to be more interested in having their children play sports," added Cisse. "Many parents believe that athletic success can become a way out of Africa for their children to get a better education in either Europe or the United States."
Sport in the Ivory Coast is dominated by three sports. Soccer dominates the landscape as it does in most of the world followed closely by basketball and handball (hugely popular in Europe). Much like the United States, children begin participation in these sports at an early age with opportunities available for both boys and girls.
"We do have sports teams in schools and universities in our country," Cisse said. "The big difference is they are not as organized as those you find in the American school systems."
Success at a younger age provided Cisse an opportunity to leave the Ivory Coast. He attended a Christian prep school in Georgia before catching the eyes of several college scouts. The Panthers staff was finally able to land Cisse who has become a force in the low block during just over 45 collegiate games.
In just his third game as an EIU Panther, Cisse collected a double-double against Big 12 member Iowa State as the Panthers suffered two point defeat. He would go on to lead the Panthers in rebounding becoming on the second freshman in the NCAA Division I history of the program to accomplish that feat.
