Syracuse Basketball Recruiting: SU could be elite in 2019

Some developments to share on the Syracuse basketball recruiting front, as a pair of highly coveted 2019 prospects are making headlines.

The SU hoops outfit likely has its roster set for the 2018-19 campaign, now that star wing Tyus Battle has decided to come back for his junior term.

Yet even as we eagerly anticipate the next season of Orange basketball, the team is of course eyeing the future, which means recruiting for its 2019 class is in full swing.

Two of the main studs on Syracuse’s radar screen for that class are five-star center Isaiah Stewart and three-star combo guard Joseph Girard III, who is one of the most prolific scorers in the country.

Stewart took to Twitter earlier this week to reveal his 10 finalists, and the ‘Cuse, fortunately, made the cut. The other nine schools are Duke, Georgetown (huh?), Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Texas, Villanova (the defending national champions), and Washington, which is led by former SU assistant Mike Hopkins.

Well, well, well. That’s quite an impressive group.

If predictions mean something to you, then it seems that the Blue Devils are the heavy favorite to

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secure Stewart’s services. Shocking, I know.

The 6-8 Stewart hails from Rochester, N.Y., and most recently spent a stanza at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind. He’s generally regarded, in the 2019 class, as a top-10 or top-15 player nationally.

I think it’s safe to say that landing Stewart is going to prove extremely difficult, although the fact that he is from Rochester, which is not too far from Syracuse, can’t hurt. Stewart met with the Orange’s legendary head coach, Jim Boeheim, in early April.

Meanwhile, the 6-2 Girard, out of Glens Falls High School in Glens Falls, N.Y., plans to trim his own list of suitors sometime later this month, Syracuse.com recently reported.

The article noted that Girard believes he has around two-dozen scholarship offers, including one from SU, as well as other powerhouse programs such as Duke, Michigan and Oklahoma.

"Girard told Syracuse.com that “I’m going from like 25 down to single digits, a handful maybe. … Not to get it out of the way, but I’ve got too many and I kind of just want to focus on the teams where I can fit in and that need me.”"

Similar to Stewart, the bevy of recruiting analysts – for now, anyways – project that Girard will ultimately end up with the Blue Devils.

However, like Stewart, Girard has ties to the state of New York, so I would assume that the ‘Cuse will stay in the running for the time being.

As a junior, Girard won the 2017-18 Gatorade New York Boys Basketball Player of the Year honor. He averaged a ridiculous 50 points per contest and has already shattered the state career scoring mark.

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In short, I hope to see Girard, and Stewart, suit up for the Orange beginning in 2019-20. That’s not too greedy, is it?

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