Syracuse Basketball: Slew of analysts predict Orange for Frank Anselem
By Neil Adler
Syracuse basketball appears the front-runner to land Frank Anselem, a 2020 four-star center.
Syracuse basketball seems the favorite to secure the services of Frank Anselem, a 2020 four-star center who will reveal his collegiate destination on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-10 Anselem, out of Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., is deciding between the Orange, Georgia, San Diego State and New Mexico.
By the early evening on Tuesday, at least seven analysts on Rivals.com and another four on the 247Sports Web site had forecast the ‘Cuse as the program that they believe Anselem will pick.
Of course, these prognostications don’t guarantee anything, as Syracuse has gotten deemed the front-runner to win out in recruiting battles in the past, only to ultimately swing and miss on top-flight targets.
Still, that nearly a dozen recruiting experts are predicting the Orange for Anselem is undeniably an encouraging development. Among those to log a projection in the direction of the ‘Cuse are Rivals.com national basketball analyst Corey Evans, Rivals.com national basketball analyst Eric Bossi, 247Sports national recruiting analyst Josh Gershon, and 247Sports director of recruiting Evan Daniels.
Syracuse basketball has a terrific shot at getting 2020 four-star center Frank Anselem.
In early April, media reports indicated that Anselem had cut his list of finalists to three Southeastern Conference members in Alabama, Georgia and LSU.
But then Anselem’s recruiting process shifted. Up until recently, he apparently had whittled down his contenders to Syracuse, Arkansas, San Diego State, Seton Hall and Western Kentucky.
On June 1, though, Anselem said via Twitter that his quartet of remaining suitors consisted of Georgia, San Diego State and New Mexico, along with the Orange.
It’s certainly logical that the ‘Cuse could prove the favorite, given that Syracuse is a strong hoops brand with a Hall of Fame head coach, a massive on-campus basketball arena, a passionate fan base, and plenty of television exposure due to its Atlantic Coast Conference affiliation.
However, Anselem is a native of Atlanta, so don’t count out Georgia and its excellent head coach, Tom Crean. San Diego State is coming off a tremendous 2019-20 campaign in which it likely would have earned a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance prior to the NCAA Tournament getting canceled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. New Mexico is also a solid squad.
Once Anselem announces his commitment, we’ll provide in-depth coverage on this news. Let’s hope that he selects the Orange but wish Anselem well no matter what path he takes.