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Twitter Tuesday: Travel ball, Moussa Cisse, Memphis transfers

In the latest #TwitterTuesday, we examine what Nike’s canceling of its EYBL season means, along with the latest on Moussa Cisse, Andrew Nembhard and much more.

MORE: Arizona's unique approach to 2020 class | Bring back travel ball

2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position

2022 Rankings: Top 75


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We know for now that the Nike EYBL will not hold any of its events this summer and/or fall, regardless of if the NCAA and NABC implement live periods in the coming months. The platform that Nike provides is arguably the best in the sport, but just because Nike has withdrawn its summer stage does not mean that there will be no evaluation periods, neither does it mean that adidas or Under Armour will follow suit.

Let’s say that they do and none of the shoe companies run an event, but the NCAA and NABC establish a live period for the first weekend in both August and September, which is currently being discussed (there are discussions around the Columbus Day weekend in October, though that could be geared more toward high school teams).

This would give a giant opportunity for independent companies that were the bedrock of the sport before the establishment of the Nike EYBL more than 10 years ago, to take center stage. Whether it is the Hoop Group, HoopSeen, On the Radar Hoops, Pangos, Phenom Hoops, NY2LA, Hoop Exchange and many others, while the uniformity that the EYBL, adidas Gauntlet, and the UAA allots would be difficult to match, the independent companies have a strong history of running some of the best events every spring and summer.

Not having the shoe company events will be missed, but if live periods are announced, expect for the independent companies to take the baton so that the summer will not be lost entirely.

Moussa Cisse
Moussa Cisse (https://rivals.com)

I am not. I placed my FutureCast for LSU for Moussa Cisse back in October and I am not going to change that now. The five-star will be committing later this week and all signs remain pointed towards the Tigers, that is the ones that can be found in Baton Rouge.

That is not to say that any of his remaining finalists could not make a late run at things. Sure, his close proximity to the Memphis program does not hurt their cause, neither does the fact that the he has visited the campus a handful of times compared to never once setting foot onto the SEC program’s campus.

However, he and his family have a few prior connections to the staff at LSU and the relationship that they have developed with them should be strong enough that will lead to his verbal commitment to LSU before the week wraps up.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH LSU FANS AT TIGERDETAILS.COM

Anytime you lose someone as good and productive as Andrew Nembhard, it is not going to help the cause but trust me on this: Mike White and his staff were not surprised by Nembhard’s decision to transfer. Rather, to my understanding, it was more of a mutual separation between program and prospect.

While Nembhard would have been a heavily used and reliable weapon within Florida’s attack next season, it does not mean that the Gators have an empty cupboard in the backcourt. Instead, it is rather the opposite. White may have been forced to used the redshirt on one of his guards, but now will have more minutes to go around along the perimeter which should only make it easier to keep everyone happy.

Replacing Nembhard will not be easy, but whether it is Noah Locke or Scottie Lewis showing they can create for others more often, or any of the group of Cleveland State transfer Tyree Applebee, four-star freshman Niels Lane, and former McDonald’s All-American Tre Mann, Florida’s backcourt is fairly loaded. The loss of Nembhard and his facilitating abilities will hurt, but White and his staff should not have many issues over the long haul filling such a void with a diverse array of athletes, shooters and playmakers.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH FLORIDA FANS AT GATORSTERRITORY.COM

A four-star wing in the 2021 class, Ike Cornish recently cut his school list to a final six last month that features Georgetown, Maryland, Rutgers, St. John's, Virginia Tech and Xavier. The Baltimore native, who is completing his high school career at Legacy Charter School in Greenville, S.C., has also set his commitment date for his birthday on Aug. 21.

While he will likely make his decision before he can take an official visit, my FutureCast is on Maryland for Cornish and I doubt that I would change it between now and his decision. However, if there is one school that could step in the way of the Terps, it is Xavier. The Musketeers have been involved longer than Maryland, which just offered in April. However, the appeal of returning closer to home for college, and Maryland’s only added priority in keeping the best local talent within the area, could equate for a strong addition to the Terps’ 2021 class in two months.

Honestly, guessing which side a quarter will land on is practically the same as predicting whether a transfer will receive immediate eligibility or not. That is the quandary that Memphis currently sits in with two of the best sit-out transfers this spring.

Both DeAndre Williams and Landers Nolley were big recruiting wins this offseason for Penny Hardaway and it appears that each will push for a waiver to play right away. Of the two, Williams might have the best chance due to his former coach, Walter McCarty, being relieved of his duties mid-way through last season. While a coaching change does not equate to a granted waiver, it is at least something credible that Williams has working in his favor for why he changed programs compared to Nolley.

In the past, we have seen waiver requests not finalized until as late as the ongoing season. That is why it was promising to see UCLA’s Johnny Juzang receive his own request just last week. Not that Juzang has anything to do with Memphis, but that the NCAA might be answering waiver requests much earlier compared to prior years which should give the Tigers an earlier idea as to how their roster will look heading into the fall.

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