Four-star center Franck Kepnang will remain in the 2021 class, and Syracuse basketball may continue to have a chance of landing him.
Syracuse basketball target Franck Kepnang, a four-star center, has elected to stay in the 2021 class rather than reclassify to the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to reports from Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog and other media outlets.
It seems like an uphill battle for the Orange to pick up Kepnang, a top-25 prospect nationally, as there hasn’t proven a lot of chatter lately linking Kepnang to Syracuse basketball.
But in the fickle recruiting world, one never entirely knows what’s going to happen until a high-school player announces his ultimate destination.
What does appear fairly certain, though, is that if the 6-foot-11 Kepnang moved to the 2020 class, the ‘Cuse would have gotten removed from contention.
That’s because, heading into the 2020-21 campaign, Syracuse basketball already has a quartet of centers on its roster, including four-star incoming freshman Frank Anselem from Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., who committed to the Orange in early June.
Another center is John Bol Ajak, a redshirt freshman who went to the Westtown School in West Chester, Pa., where Kepnang is presently a rising senior.
On the AAU circuit, Kepnang runs with the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals. Two additional Syracuse basketball targets also suit up for the PSA Cardinals, and they are 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne and 2022 four-star small forward Yann Farrell.
Etienne and Farrell each recently transferred to the powerhouse program of the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., which has sent multiple guys to the ‘Cuse over the years.
In September of 2018, Syracuse basketball offered a scholarship to Kepnang, who holds a slew of other offers, according to a review of the primary recruiting services.
Those offers doled out to Kepnang include from Kansas, Maryland, Georgetown, Connecticut, Dayton, Indiana, Ohio State, UCLA, Washington, Auburn, Oregon, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh.
Per his bio on the 247Sports Web site, he also has received interest from Duke and Kentucky, but no offers from those two blue bloods as of yet.
Overall in the 2021 class, ESPN.com slots Kepnang at No. 21, followed by No. 25 at both the 247Sports Composite and Rivals.com. He is also universally deemed a top-10 center across the country in this recruiting cycle.
"We’ll end this column with what 247Sports analyst Jerry Meyer said about Kepnang in an evaluation from earlier this year. “Tremendous build and length. Mobile big man who plays with energy and high motor. Quite limited offensive player. Primarily just a dunker. Aggressive rebounder but modest rebounding numbers. Blocking shots is his niche. Has a NBA body but must drastically improve skill wise on offense to play at that level.”"