Syracuse basketball has its sights set on a stellar 2022 class, but five prospects on its radar have secured impressive new offers.
Syracuse basketball could position itself for a 2022 recruiting cycle that is among the best classes in program history, although the high-school players it is eyeing are getting elite offer after elite offer.
Since we last reported about a week ago on other scholarship offers received by various Orange targets in the 2022 class, five of the prospects whom the ‘Cuse has honed in on during this cycle have secured more-recent offers from high-major squads, according to recruiting services.
In a nutshell, competition for these top-flight 2022 guys is only intensifying. Syracuse coaches will face a huge challenge in trying to bring in a couple of additional studs to link up with the Orange’s lone 2022 commit to date, five-star point guard and top-five prospect Dior Johnson.
‘Cuse high-priority target Zion Cruz, who is suiting up alongside Johnson at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., has landed offers from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Louisville and Big Ten Conference participant Iowa, which crushed Syracuse in the 2019-20 campaign. Cruz is a five-star shooting guard and a top-20 player in the 2022 class.
Another high-priority target for Syracuse is four-star shooting guard Chance Westry, a top-25 prospect who is transferring to the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif., where NBA superstar LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, also plays. Westry has gotten other recent offers from Maryland and USC.
Both of these crews could prove worrisome for the Orange pertaining to Westry, as the Terrapins are faring well in the Big Ten, and the Trojans are out in Los Angeles where he is going to play high-school ball.
Top-45 prospect Roddy Gayle Jr., a four-star shooting guard from Lewiston-Porter High School in Youngstown, N.Y., also obtained an offer from Louisville, a team that is on the upswing in the ACC.
Chris Bunch, a top-40 prospect and four-star small forward from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., has acquired an offer from Utah out of the Pac-12 Conference.
Finally, Yann Farrell earned offers from the ACC’s Virginia Tech and former Big East Conference foe West Virginia, which is now in the Big 12 Conference. Farrell is a four-star, top-100 small forward who attends the West Nottingham Academy in Colora, Md.