Syracuse Basketball Recruiting: Thorpe, Dolezaj Eyeing The Orange
By Neil Adler
The Syracuse basketball squad isn’t done recruiting for its 2017 class, with Geno Thorpe and Marek Dolezaj heavily in the mix.
Head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff have two scholarships remaining for the upcoming season. The SU basketball team needs to land another recruit or two in the near future. Marek Dolezaj, a Slovakian prospect, and Geno Thorpe, a grad-transfer are Syracuse’s two targets as of right now.
Guard Geno Thorpe, from South Florida, is apparently down to the ‘Cuse and Pittsburgh. That’s according to a tweet from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
South Florida grad transfer Geno Thorpe tells me he is now considering Syracuse and Pitt. Immediately eligible.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 19, 2017
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The 6-4 Thorpe, who is eligible to play immediately as a grad transfer, averaged about 15 points and nearly five assists a game for the Bulls in the 2016-17 term. He suited up for two stanzas with Penn State prior to joining South Florida.
It’s important to note here that Thorpe is from Pittsburgh. Therefore, I’m not at all surprised he’s seriously considering the Panthers. He’d likely garner a significant amount of court time at either ACC program.
Despite Syracuse suffering a disappointing 2016-17 campaign, Pitt fared even worse. To me, it looks like the Panthers are about to enter a massive rebuilding phase.
Marek Dolezaj Commits to Orange?:
Meanwhile, Marek Dolezaj is reportedly honing in on SU. Per Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog, said the Orange is “likely to land a pledge from 6-foot-9 Slovakian forward.” Several social media outlets tweeted on Monday that Dolezaj has committed to the ‘Cuse. However, I’ve yet to see anything official from Boeheim or SU.
Dolezaj has posted a picture of himself in a Syracuse uniform on his Instagram page, so that’s a positive sign.
He also confirmed he committed to Syracuse to NunesMagician.. He recently had an official visit to the Central New York campus.
I did not finding a lot of info online about Dolezaj. Scout.com says he also held an offer from Vanderbilt. If Dolezaj indeed did commit to SU, he would represent the fourth incoming freshman, along with point/combo guard Howard Washington, forward Oshae Brissett and power forward Bourama Sidibe.
In the video below from late last year, Dolezaj can be seen lighting it up. Wearing #31, he is seen in quite a few of the first couple highlight clips.
Not too long ago, ECU guard Elijah Hughes also said he would transfer to the ‘Cuse. He will have to sit out one season, then will have three years of eligibility left.
Dolezaj committing would reduce the number of scholies available to one. At this juncture, I assume it could get used for either Thorpe, or 2018 four star point guard Eric Ayala, if he decides to reclassify to 2017.
The Syracuse roster for this fall is surely rounding into shape. I can’t wait for hoops to get going again!