Syracuse Basketball: Orange offers 2021 big man Ashton Smith

Syracuse basketball remains active in the 2021 recruiting cycle, offering a scholarship to power forward/center Ashton Smith out of Houston.

Syracuse basketball, which will say adios to two of its veteran big men after the next campaign concludes, continues to hone in on power forwards and centers in the 2021 class, with the latest scholarship offer heading to Ashton Smith.

The 6-foot-9 power forward/center, who is a rising senior at Nimitz High School in Houston, disclosed the schollie pledge from the Orange via his Twitter page.

Smith’s offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff comes about a week after word broke that another 2021 big man, four-star forward Arthur Kaluma, landed his own scholarship offer from Syracuse.

The 6-foot-8 Kaluma, a top-60 prospect out of Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Arizona., has received offers from a bunch of programs, including Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, St. John’s and USC.

As it pertains to Smith, the primary recruiting services don’t appear to have him ranked nationally

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at this juncture, but ratings mean little to me. Smith also could prove a late bloomer in this particular cycle.

Rivals.com says that he holds other offers from the University of Houston, McNeese State and Mississippi State. It’s pretty much a guarantee that other offers will come in for Smith in the near future, given that the Cougars, an excellent crew coached by Kelvin Sampson, and the Orange are in the mix.

In reviewing some of Smith’s highlights, there’s a lot to like. He’s athletic and has a super-long wingspan, which is always enticing for the ‘Cuse 2-3 zone. Smith runs the court well, is a force around the rim, dunks with vigor, and possesses a nice, soft touch with his mid-range jumper.

Following the 2020-21 term on the Hill, power forward/center Marek Dolezaj and center Bourama Sidibe are both slated to exhaust their eligibility. Therefore, it makes complete sense that Syracuse is targeting more big men.

It will prove tough to get Kaluma, due to the intense competition, but who knows at this point, because the recruiting game is so fickle. Smith looks to have the goods, and we’ll of course keep tabs on his progress.