Syracuse Basketball: National recruitment heats up for target Chris Bunch
By Neil Adler
Syracuse basketball target Chris Bunch is receiving strong offers and seeing his national stock rise.
Syracuse basketball will have a recruiting battle on its hands if it wants to secure 2022 small forward Chris Bunch, who attends high school on the West Coast.
Since the Orange offered a scholarship in late April to Bunch, a rising junior at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., the talented 6-foot-6 prospect has landed at least three additional offers, from Big East Conference member Creighton, as well as two Big 12 Conference crews in Iowa State and Oklahoma.
Also, from the time we reported on the ‘Cuse offer to Bunch, he has arrived in the national rankings via Rivals.com, at No. 101 overall across the 2022 class. Rivals.com now slots him as a four-star guy.
The 247Sports Composite, meanwhile, lists Bunch as three stars and No. 80 nationally in the 2022 class, as well as No. 24 at the small-forward position and No. 11 in the state of California.
Syracuse coaches primarily had offered point guards and shooting guards in the 2022 recruiting cycle before getting involved with Bunch, an athletic, lengthy wing who shoots admirably from beyond the arc, drives the lane well, and has a smooth touch in the mid-range.
Because Bunch has two more terms of high-school ball remaining, I’d expect him to continue collecting high-major scholarship offers and witness his national rankings climb.
Chris Bunch, a Syracuse basketball target in the 2022 class, has a range of quality programs from which to choose.
At this juncture, Bunch has roughly 20 offers, according to a review of several recruiting Web sites. Florida State, which captured the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2019-20 regular-stanza crown, has offered.
So, too, have 2017 Final Four participant South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Rhode Island, which just got Orange hoops transfer Jalen Carey, USC, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and SMU. A pretty wide assortment of squads located around the country, that’s for sure.
The ‘Cuse has succeeded on the recruiting trail in California, with commits over the years such as Mike Hopkins, Stevie Thompson, and Jason Hart.
Plus, Dior Johnson, a five-star point guard in the 2022 class, has committed to Syracuse, and he’s said that he plans on bringing other elite prospects with him to Central New York.
What’s more, the Orange is in a recruiting groove, having heard its name called over the past few days for 2020 four-star center Frank Anselem and 2021 four-star small forward Benny Williams.
Hopefully, that kind of traction for the ‘Cuse will appeal to Bunch as his own recruitment moves along.