Syracuse Basketball: Transfer Aaron Estrada puts Orange in final three

Syracuse basketball is reportedly receiving strong interest from talented guard Aaron Estrada, who is transferring from Saint Peter’s.

Aaron Estrada, a freshman guard who is transferring from Saint Peter’s, has cut his list to a trio of squads, including Syracuse basketball, according to a tweet by Andrew Slater.

The others also in contention, per Slater, are Creighton and Oregon. That’s pretty hefty competition to land the 6-foot-4 Estrada, who recently got honored as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year.

Creighton, for one, is coming off a terrific 2019-20 campaign in which it tied with Seton Hall and Villanova for the Big East Conference’s regular-stanza title. Oregon, meanwhile, captured the Pac-12 Conference’s regular-term trophy.

How interested Orange coaches are in Estrada isn’t entirely clear. For what it’s worth, Estrada did retweet Slater’s tweet.

"Conversely, Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters, who is likely as plugged in to the ‘Cuse hoops crew as any media member, said this in a tweet: “Not sure about Syracuse being on this list. Runs contrary to what I’ve been hearing.”"

Okay, so we’ll all have to see how this plays out with Estrada. In his freshman stint with Saint Peter’s, a university in Jersey City, N.J., Estrada averaged 19.4 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists a game.

He shot 40.5 percent from the field, 87.9 percent from the charity stripe and 34.0 percent from beyond the arc for the Peacocks, which finished 2019-20 at 18-12 overall and 14-6 in the MAAC, good for second place in the league.

Prior to joining Saint Peter’s, Estrada attended St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, N.J. Rivals.com rated Estrada, whose hometown is in Woodbury, N.J., as a three-star prospect in the 2019 class with other scholarship offers from East Carolina, Robert Morris, and Wagner College.

Should Estrada select the Orange, he would have to sit out a year before resuming his eligibility, unless he secured a waiver from the NCAA.

Separately, the NCAA is considering legislation that would allow student-athletes a one-time transfer exception, with immediate eligibility, beginning in 2020-21.

But when a vote on this legislation takes place, and how that could affect transfers such as Estrada, seems a bit up in the air at this juncture due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Besides Estrada, the ‘Cuse is in the final six for 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Alan Griffin, a transfer from Illinois. Griffin is reportedly down to Syracuse, Miami, Dayton, Iowa State, Arizona, and Texas.

Head coach Jim Boeheim has said that he doesn’t necessarily anticipate further changes to an Orange roster which has already experienced a couple of defections. Boeheim, though, didn’t completely rule out additions to his line-up, either.

The ‘Cuse is expected to enter 2020-21 with three guards in the rotation. Bringing on a fourth one could boost the depth at this position, and that’s definitely not a bad thing.