Syracuse basketball has some ground to make up with 2021 four-star forward Arthur Kaluma, according to one national analyst.
Syracuse basketball is set to lose two big men after this season, and the Orange has recently missed out on two 2021 frontcourt targets, making the recruitment of four-star power forward Arthur Kaluma a critical one.
Here’s the backstory. Current power forward/center Marek Dolezaj and center Bourama Sidibe are both expected to exhaust their eligibility on the Hill after the 2020-21 term.
A pair of 2021 big men whom Syracuse basketball had targeted recently removed the ‘Cuse from contention. Three-star Ashton Smith, a 6-foot-9 power forward/center out of Legacy the School of Sport Sciences in Spring, Texas, has disclosed a top four of Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Houston and Nebraska.
And four-star Samson Johnson, a 6-foot-10 power forward/center from The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., has committed to Connecticut.
Additionally, perhaps the Orange’s top frontcourt priority in this recruiting cycle, 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne, has received so many high-major scholarship offers that his recruitment is tough to read, per Rivals.com national analyst Eric Bossi.
The 6-foot-10 Etienne, who will attend the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., this fall, has certainly spoken favorably of Syracuse basketball, but it may prove tough to count on him committing to the ‘Cuse.
Syracuse basketball, in search of a 2021 big man, needs to focus on four-star Arthur Kaluma.
As such, all of this context brings us to the 6-foot-8 Kaluma, who is from Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz. On July 1, Kaluma revealed a top eight of the Orange, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona State, USC, Arkansas, Texas A&M and UNLV.
Corey Evans, a national analyst for Rivals.com, recently penned a column where he ranked the contenders for Kaluma. USC checks in at No. 1, and Syracuse basketball is No. 5.
Evans had some interesting things to say about the Orange’s chances to land Kaluma, a top-60 prospect in the 2021 class who is rated as high as No. 20 overall by 247Sports.
"“At one point in time earlier in the year, Syracuse was believed to be the favorite for Kaluma. Things had even progressed to the point that there was talk that he was about to commit to the Orange. That obviously didn’t happen, and while Syracuse remains in the picture, it is now playing catch-up. Kaluma does fit all that the Orange do, but there’s a gap between Syracuse and the programs at the top of his list.”"
It seems that the ‘Cuse is still in the running for Kaluma, an athletic, long power forward who would excel in the vaunted 2-3 zone. But Syracuse basketball faces a huge challenge in attempting to win this fierce recruiting bout.