Syracuse Basketball Recruiting: Jordan Tucker Picks Duke Over Orange

The Syracuse basketball squad gets some depressing recruiting news, as Jordan Tucker elects to play his college ball at Duke. Inside the Loud House has the details.

Another top-flight target has spurned Syracuse for another college-basketball powerhouse. Four-star wing Jordan Tucker, a huge priority for head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff in the 2017 class, announced via Twitter on Saturday afternoon that he will suit up for Duke this coming season.

The 6-7 guard/small forward, out of Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., near Atlanta, had recently narrowed down his finalists to Georgia Tech and the ‘Cuse.

But then five-star prospect Kevin Knox, somewhat surprisingly, selected Kentucky last weekend, despite many recruiting analysts projecting him to go to the Blue Devils. That led head coach Mike Krzyzewski, a dear friend of Boeheim’s, to offer Jordan Tucker a scholarship at basically the last minute.

Tucker, who hails from White Plains, N.Y., found the Duke offer to good to pass up. I have read a ton of articles online in recent months saying that he hoped for a scholarship offer from the Blue Devils. So, this decision clearly stings, but it’s fairly unsurprising.

I want to make a note here: all you SU fans out there, please do not trash Tucker on social media. He’s just a teen-ager, and he’s doing what he feels is most appropriate for himself, and his family.

I’m undeniably bummed that Jordan Tucker will not don a Syracuse uniform. Particularly, because he could have likely found himself with more court action in Central New York, while playing before 30,000 people against ACC competition.

However, can you really blame Tucker for favoring Coach K over JB? The former has five national titles and the most-ever victories for a Division I men’s basketball boss. In recent years, a plethora of Duke guys have gone to the NBA after one or two terms.

In looking at the 2017-18 campaign, the Blue Devils lost a handful of dudes to graduation and the NBA Draft. They do bring in a highly ranked recruiting class, but Tucker will have the opportunity to play.

Still, the verdict by Tucker, who dubs himself “The Juice Man” on Twitter, truly hurts.

This has proven a rough recruiting cycle for Boeheim & Co. Since last fall, I can count at least ten top-50 prospects who put Syracuse in their final two, four, six, etc., but then fled elsewhere. To Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Miami, among others.

Jordan Tucker has generally been regarded as one of the 100 best recruits across the country in the 2017 class, and would have filled a major void for SU. He’s athletic, long and shoots deadly from outside. That would have proven extremely helpful, as the Orange saw Andrew White III, John Gillon and Tyler Lydon depart after the 2016-17 stanza.

If we examine the ‘Cuse roster for this fall, five players return and three freshman come in. In addition, earlier this week, East Carolina guard Elijah Hughes said he would transfer to Syracuse. Although, he will have to sit out one year, he will have three years of eligibility remaining, which is good news for Syracuse Basketball.

That leaves SU with two scholarships left. JB and his assistants continue to pursue other prospects. There’s four-star small forward Sid Wilson, who has included the Orange in his final six. There’s also 2018 four-star point guard Eric Ayala, a ‘Cuse target who may reclassify to 2017.

Marek Dolezaj, a forward from Slovakia, recently had an official visit to the SU campus, per a Syracuse.com report. And guard Geno Thorpe, a graduate transfer from South Florida, is apparently interested in the Orange, says Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

What’s more, the ‘Cuse has a slew of scholarship offers out there to highly rated recruits in the 2018 class. With Boeheim having recently quipped that he plans to coach five or six more years, that gives the program some stability, at least in the short term.

JB has acknowledged that Syracuse, similar to other big-brand colleges, loses out on targets all the time. And, he’s right. However, for some reason, the disappointments as it pertains to the 2017 class seem painstakingly brutal.

Nevertheless, the sky isn’t falling into the sea. Let’s see what other prospects pan out, then we can assess whether 2017-18 is a complete rebuilding job.

I have to admit, I think if I coached hoops in college, I would pull all of my hair out. It’s such a crapshoot, and utterly frustrating. You work prospects for months, even years, and they break your heart when a “better” offer materializes near the finish line.

It happened with five-star point guard Quade Green, when he opted for Big Blue Nation rather than ‘Cuse Nation. And, now, Tucker’s done the same thing.

SU offered Tucker a scholarship back in 2014 and stayed on him. However, in 2016, it appeared that Syracuse backed off a bit. Tucker whittled down his finalists to Indiana and Villanova.

Then, Indiana’s head coach, Tom Crean, got the boot. Villanova seemed to go a little quiet. Tucker, who lives in the Atlanta area, saw Georgia Tech get into the mix. And Oregon.

When Boeheim signed his contract extension, and Lydon declared early for the NBA Draft, JB and assistant coach Gerry McNamara flew down south to meet with Tucker.

At that juncture, Tucker reportedly considered Georgia Tech, Oregon, Villanova and the Orange. Then, recruiting analysts said Tucker had narrowed it down to Syracuse and the Yellow Jackets. Experts pegged the ‘Cuse as the front-runner.

In fact, a Scout.com article quoted Tucker as saying he planned to “pull the trigger for Syracuse.” But, Knox chose head coach John Calipari and his Wildcats. Coach K offered Tucker a scholarship, and he accepted.

That’s the ballgame, folks. I guess that in the high-stakes recruiting world, much like life in general, virtually nothing is a sure thing.

SU’s pursuit of Tucker proved oh-so-close to landing his services. But, unfortunately, The Juice Man eventually determined that Orange isn’t his favorite color.