SU Basketball Recruiting: Clearer skies appear ahead

A slice of juicy news on the recruiting trail, as the Syracuse basketball program picks up another pledge, this time in the 2019 class. ITLH breaks it all down.

The Syracuse basketball squad is on a recruiting roll.

Just days after Buddy Boeheim said he would suit up for his father in a year, the Orange has secured the first commitment in its 2019 class.

Brycen Goodine, a three-star shooting guard from the St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I., revealed on Twitter that he will don a ‘Cuse uniform beginning in 2019-20.

The 6-4 Goodine, currently a high-school junior, hails from New Bedford, Mass. At the moment, he’s not listed among the top-100 players in his class.

Overall, Goodine checks in at 131^st via Rivals.com, and 183^rd at 247Sports.

However, from what I’ve read online, he has a sweet shooting stroke and is tremendously athletic. It’s possible – and even probable – that his rankings will significantly improve in the future.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim and his assistants got in early with Goodine, before his national

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stature could skyrocket. This has happened before to guys on our roster, and it will occur again.

So, for those Syracuse fans out there who want to complain that we don’t get the best of the best, I urge you to hold off. Goodine, I believe, has some serious skills.

What’s more, several media reports note that a handful of heavyweight schools have shown interest in him, including Connecticut, Miami, UCLA and Villanova.

This is a big-time get for the ‘Cuse’s 2019 class. I don’t care one bit about the ratings; they are so subjective. I go with my gut. Furthermore, JB & Co. recruit prospects to fit well into their system. That doesn’t always equate to pulling in top-10, top-25 or even top-50 dudes.

The Orange has courted those types of targets in the past, with mixed results. Sure, we’ve nabbed some here and there. In all fairness, though, this past 12 months proved pretty brutal on the recruiting front.

At least 10 high-level players in the 2017 and 2018 classes had SU on their short lists, only to head elsewhere. Those swings and misses, coupled with a disappointing NIT appearance in the 2016-17 term, led many Syracuse “faithful” to whine like crazy about the state of our beloved Orange outfit.

I understand that. We’ve failed to make the Big Dance two out of the last three stanzas. Our regular-season performances of late are underwhelming.

Still, the ‘Cuse remains one of only several teams to reach the Final Four twice in the past five years. It’s safe to say that the NCAA sanctions have stung a bit, due to scholarship reductions and limitations placed on our coaches as far as recruiting goes.

Furthermore, the ongoing speculation about when Boeheim would actually retire had to turn off some prospects.

And, despite what I’ve written in these above few paragraphs, I now think that the dark, stormy clouds brought on by the NCAA penalties are starting to wither away. I truly pray that they are.

Goodine is in tow, and SU also has a slew of scholarship offers out there to his fellow 2019 class members.

In the 2018 class, Buddy Boeheim is on board, as is five-star forward Darius Bazley.

After Bazley committed to the Orange in early July, I penned a column saying that this could help bolster Syracuse’s recruiting momentum. I feel like it has, or hopefully will.

For example, Bazley recently visited the Hill during the same weekend as 2018 four-star guard Jalen Carey, who is reportedly down to three finalists, including the ‘Cuse.

Additionally, Buddy Boeheim’s pledge means that Jim Boeheim is likely coaching for a minimum of five more campaigns. The uncertainty there has dissipated.

I readily acknowledge that the season nearly upon us could prove a struggle. We possess a bunch of new faces and are extremely young.

Next: Syracuse Football: 5 questions with Central Michigan HC John Bonamego

Yet, even if we endure a little pain in 2017-18, the way things are trending in our recruiting efforts, I have no doubt that sunny skies are on the horizon.

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