Syracuse Basketball: Where 2021 targets reside in Rivals.com rankings

Recruiting service Rivals.com has published its latest top-150 player rankings for the 2021 class, and look at where Syracuse basketball targets land.

Since Syracuse basketball has a full cast of 13 scholarship players heading into the 2020-21 campaign, it’s likely the Orange 2021 recruiting class will prove relatively small, unless multiple guys unexpectedly leave the program after this upcoming term, which can always happen.

The ‘Cuse is set to have two big men exhaust their eligibility following 2020-21, and elite 2021 small forward Benny Williams from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., has already committed to Syracuse basketball.

If my math is correct, that means the Orange would have one additional scholarship available for the 2021 recruiting cycle at this juncture.

Based on media reports and commentary from recruiting analysts, it appears that Syracuse basketball is focused on two primary targets in this class. At least that’s how I see it, anyways.

They are four-star center Micawber Etienne and four-star power forward Arthur Kaluma, although the outlook for the ‘Cuse as it pertains to Kaluma doesn’t seem so great right now.

See where Syracuse basketball 2021 targets fall in the new Rivals.com national rankings.

Rivals.com, one of the main recruiting services, recently unveiled its most-recent national rankings for the top-150 prospects in the 2021 class. Williams’ stock soared in these new ratings, a topic that we’re delving into for a separate column.

As it goes for Etienne and Kaluma, they both are arranged in the top 60 overall in this cycle. Rivals.com places the 6-foot-10 Etienne, who attends the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., at No. 50.

For Kaluma, who is out of the Dream City Christian School in Glendale, Ariz., he is slotted at No. 59.

If you want to compare the Rivals.com ratings of these two high-school players with the other established recruiting services, Kaluma is No. 32 at 247Sports, No. 39 at ESPN.com and No. 40 at the 247Sports Composite.

Etienne, on the other hand, is No. 41 at 247Sports, No. 44 at the 247Sports Composite and No. 64 at ESPN.com. His recruitment is tough to read, yet Etienne is garnering high praise about his future NBA potential.