Syracuse basketball recruits, targets poised for stellar prep-school years

Syracuse basketball commits and targets in the 2021 and 2022 classes are suiting up for powerhouse prep-school programs in the upcoming season.

If you peruse the list of Syracuse basketball commits to date and Orange targets in the next two recruiting cycles, you’ll see that these players are competing for a who’s who of prep-school heavyweights this coming stanza.

Assuming that high-school basketball is able to occur amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, it wouldn’t come as a surprise at all if a prep team with a connection to the ‘Cuse ends up claiming a national championship.

Let’s start with 2021 commit Benny Williams, recently anointed by Rivals.com as a five-star prospect in his class. The small forward, a top-25 player nationally in the 2021 recruiting cycle, has transferred from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

The IMG Academy, which won the GEICO High School Nationals title in April of 2019, is also the home of Orange target Jarace Walker, a 2022 five-star small forward deemed by the primary recruiting services as a top-10 prospect overall in his cycle.

Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson, a five-star point guard and No. 3 prospect nationally per 247Sports, is at the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., where he plays alongside Zion Cruz, a 2022 five-star guard who is also a big-time target for the Orange in this class.

Johnson recently said on Twitter that he’d like the Oak Hill Academy to suit up versus the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif., but it’s unclear if this is even feasible during the pandemic.

A high-priority target for Syracuse basketball in the 2022 recruiting cycle, four-star guard Chance Westry, recently revealed that he would transfer from Trinity High School in Camp Hill, Pa., to the Sierra Canyon School, where NBA superstar LeBron James’ son, 2023 four-star point guard Bronny James, is also on the roster.

Another big-name prep school, the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., has sent multiple players to the Hill over the years, including current junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and 2020 four-star combo guard Kadary Richmond, an incoming freshman.

Earlier this summer, 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne and 2022 four-star small forward Yann Farrell both transferred in to the Brewster Academy.

J.J. Starling, a Syracuse-area product and 2022 four-star point guard, moved in July from Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y., to the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., which annually is one of the premier prep squads around the country. Orange coaches have targeted Starling for quite some time.

As Starling headed to the La Lumiere School, a short while later, Syracuse basketball 2022 target Kamari Lands decided to leave. Lands, a four-star small forward, transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif.

Prolific Prep, by the way, is where 2020 four-star center and ‘Cuse freshman Frank Anselem also most recently played while in high school.