Syracuse Basketball: Orange is out of contention for grad-transfer Seth Towns

Syracuse basketball will not get a commitment from Harvard graduate transfer Seth Towns, who will decide between Duke and Ohio State.

Syracuse basketball is apparently no longer in the running for Harvard graduate transfer Seth Towns.

Multiple media outlets reported on Thursday, led by The Athletic’s Matthew Gutierrez, that Towns is down to a pair of finalists in Atlantic Coast Conference member Duke and Towns’ hometown crew, Ohio State.

Honestly, while I had held out a smidge of hope that maybe the 6-foot-7 forward would select the Orange, I’m not surprised that the ‘Cuse doesn’t remain under consideration for Towns.

First and foremost, even with the recent transfer news affecting Syracuse, the Orange still has a sizable amount of forwards slated for next fall’s roster.

Plus, although most of us expect redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes to forgo his final stanza of eligibility and head to the pros, the present circumstances with the novel coronavirus pandemic are making the entire situation surrounding the NBA Draft a tad murkier.

Towns, a three-star prospect prior to beginning his collegiate career, attended Northland High School in Columbus, which is also the location of the Buckeyes’ campus. From the Internet chatter I perused in recent days, it seemed that Ohio State had gotten perceived as one of the favorites to land Towns.

Then, as has happened before, the Blue Devils emerged as a possible destination for the 2017-18 Ivy League Player of the Year just in the past day or two. Once Duke entered the fray, that probably crushed any dash of hope for ‘Cuse fans that Towns would ever arrive on the Hill.

Other schools eliminated from the mix, besides Syracuse, are Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia. Towns, who hasn’t suited up for the last two terms due to an injury, is immediately eligible to compete. Various pundits have anointed him one of the premier transfers on the market.

With Towns opting for another squad, let’s see how that affects the Orange’s potential pursuit of another grad transfer, 6-foot-10 power forward/center Patrick Tape of Columbia. Tape made a visit to Central New York in early February, ironically when the ‘Cuse hosted the Blue Devils.