Syracuse Basketball: Samson Johnson would add depth and length

Syracuse basketball is in a recruiting battle for 2021 big man Samson Johnson, a rim protector who would fit beautifully into the Orange’s 2-3 zone.

The recruitment of 2021 power forward/center Samson Johnson is heating up, and it’s critically important that Syracuse basketball has become one of the first programs to offer him a scholarship.

Multiple recruiting analysts agree that the 6-foot-10 Johnson possesses tremendous upside and should see his stock climb, although the novel coronavirus pandemic could affect his ability to run with the NY Jayhawks on the Adidas AAU circuit over the spring and summer months.

Regardless, the Orange is squarely in the mix for Johnson, a three-star prospect and rising senior at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J. Recruiting analyst Andrew Slater, via Twitter, first reported the ‘Cuse offer to Johnson.

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The high-major offers are beginning to pour in. According to a review of the primary recruiting Web sites, Johnson’s other offers, at least for now, are from Big East Conference members Connecticut, Marquette, St. John’s and Xavier, as well as Miami and Syracuse out of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Other squads showing interest in Johnson include Cincinnati, Creighton, Florida, Georgia, UCLA, and Western Kentucky. Considering that a lot of his offers have arrived in recent days, it seems pretty clear that this talented young man is going to land numerous additional offers in the near future.

The Orange has had success recruiting prospects out of the New Jersey and New York areas over the years, so the ‘Cuse certainly has a solid chance at remaining in serious contention for Johnson.

Conversely, the competition is only going to intensify, and if some of the more traditional blue bloods get involved, watch out. Creighton, which performed admirably during the 2019-20 campaign and is projected as a top-10 crew heading into the upcoming term, amounts to an intriguing destination.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Georgetown, another Big East unit, enters the fray. The same goes for Florida State, a top-five group in 2019-20 that won the ACC regular-stanza title and is excellent at developing big men. The Seminoles recently beat out Syracuse and Maryland for 7-foot prospect Quincy Ballard, a center in the 2020 class.

In short, the fact Orange coaches are already involved with Johnson is encouraging, and he would do wonders in the ‘Cuse zone. While unrated by some recruiting services, Rivals.com places Johnson at No. 135 overall and at No. 19 in the center position.

Jay David, the executive director of the NY Jayhawks, provided this nugget about Johnson to Rivals.com national basketball analyst Eric Bossi. “At 6’10, he has a 40-plus vertical with 7’5/7’6 wingspan with the ability to step out and hit the high school three-pointer consistently. He is one of the best forwards in the country.”

With power forward/center Marek Dolezaj and center Bourama Sidibe expected to exhaust their eligibility on the Hill after 2020-21, Syracuse could use more big men. The Orange’s other current centers, Jesse Edwards and John Bol Ajak, are underclassmen who both have potential, but they are unproven at this juncture.

An excellent shot-blocker who runs the court well and has an instinctive ability to grab boards on the offensive glass, Johnson would provide vital depth to the ‘Cuse front court.

In the last two weeks, Syracuse has also offered 2021 power forward/center Ashton Smith, a 6-foot-9 rising senior at Nimitz High School in Houston, and 2021 four-star forward Arthur Kaluma, a 6-foot-8, top-60 prospect out of Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz.

There is much to like about all three of these prospects, and the Orange will undeniably benefit if it can secure at least one of them for the 2021 recruiting cycle.