By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Western Illinois center Drew Cisse is one of the nation’s best rebounders.

He has had five consecutive double-figure rebound games, and has a current streak of three consecutive double-doubles.

And he thinks he is not even at his best yet.

“I feel like I’m holding back a little bit,” said Cisse, a senior who transferred from NCAA Division II school Missouri-St. Louis in the offseason. “I’ve only played 11, 12, Division I games, so I’m still trying to settle in. I feel like there’s another level I can tap into.”

Cisse, at 6-foot-11 and 230 pounds, leads all Division I players with 159 rebounds. He is tied for third in rebounds per game at 12.3, ranks fifth in offensive rebounds per game and seventh in defensive rebounds per game, and is 12th in blocked shots with 29.

Cisse has 81 rebounds in his last five games, beginning with a 20-rebound game in a December 3 home loss to South Dakota. Earlier this season, he had a 12-rebound game in a loss at Illinois, and 11-rebound games against Wisconsin and SMU.

“He’s played really well,” Western Illinois coach Chad Boudreau said. “He’s been really consistent. He’s playing with a lot of confidence. We’re showing a lot of confidence in him, and he’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

“We already know if a shot goes up and it doesn’t go in, Drew’s getting it,” guard Shay Davis said, smiling.

Cisse, who averaged 5.6 points and 6.6 rebounds at UMSL last season, is seeing his consistent pre-game work pay off.

“It’s just a lot of confidence, and making sure I’m sticking to my routine before games,” Cisse said. “I feel like last year I was kind of disjointed. This year I feel like I’m very intentional with everything I do. I feel like everything that I’ve been doing — watching work, getting in the gym — that hard work is really showing.

“I watch a lot of film, do a lot of meditation. When I get in the gym, I try to do different things. I’ll throw the ball off the rim super hard, then go after it. Practice seeing different angles the ball can come off from, and that helps me during a game.”

“He’s a relentless rebounder,” Boudreau said. “Everyone is trying to box him out, and he’s hard to box, because he’s so athletic. He’s got a nose for the ball.”

Cisse was recruited to Western Illinois by associate head coach Kyle Heikkinen.

“He spoke to me in a way no other coach has talked to me, and it sounded like he needed me and wanted me,” Cisse said. “A lot of coaches use you as a backup option. He saw what I saw in myself for so long, but he was the first coach who saw me like that at this level. With someone like that, you feel indebted to them and you want to pay off that loyalty, pay off that type of faith in you.”

Cisse, who averages 9.2 points per game, has five double-figure scoring games this season. He has scored 40 points in the last three games, and is a 67.5-percent shooter from the field.

“He’s got to keep developing,” Boudreau said. “We want him to score more, score around the basket, get his confidence in that.

“He’s got a high ceiling, and I don’t think he’s reached it yet. We want him to keep pushing, keep growing. He’s had a really good first semester for us, and I think the second semester, he’s going to be even better.”

“I don’t feel like there’s anything that can stop me besides me,” Cisse said. “So knowing that, taking care of myself, and knowing that my teammates have my back and I’ve got their backs as well, when the relationships are like that, everybody benefits.”

Photo: Western Illinois center Drew Cisse drives to the basket in a game against Wisconsin earlier this season. (Lawrence Lles/Icon Sportswire)