Syracuse Basketball: As list nears, top target Roddy Gayle Jr. holds visits

Syracuse basketball high-priority 2022 target Roddy Gayle Jr. has recently talked with Orange coaches as well as several other teams.

Syracuse basketball 2022 target Roddy Gayle Jr. is expected to trim down his list of contenders soon, and it would honestly shock me if the Orange doesn’t make the cut.

The 6-foot-5 Gayle, a junior at Lewiston-Porter High School in Youngstown, N.Y., is a top-30 prospect in this recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports.

In recent media reports, he has spoken in an extremely positive light about Syracuse basketball and his relationship with the ‘Cuse coaching staff.

While he holds a slew of high-major scholarship offers, and I haven’t seen any recruiting analyst predictions for him to date, it’s worth noting that the Orange is the only squad listed as “warm” within Gayle’s bio on the 247Sports Web site.

Then again, the recruiting world is fickle, so until Gayle reveals his collegiate destination, nothing is even close to a guarantee.

Recruiting guru Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, recently tweeted that Gayle has held virtual meetings of late with coaches at Syracuse basketball, along with fellow Atlantic Coast Conference groups Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, Ohio State and Big 12 Conference heavyweight Kansas.

https://twitter.com/jakeweingarten/status/1311119972727488512

Syracuse basketball big-time 2022 target Roddy Gayle Jr. has recently conducted virtual chats with Orange coaches and a few other units.

The Jayhawks, as we reported not too long ago, are the latest team to offer a scholarship to Gayle, and that certainly could complicate Syracuse basketball efforts to land the talented four-star shooting guard.

Yes, Gayle goes to high school about three hours from the Hill. And ‘Cuse coaches have prioritized Gayle for a while now. But Kansas is, well, Kansas. It’s a blue-blood team, along the same lines as Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Virtually every year, the Jayhawks are deemed the favorite to capture the Big 12 crown and make a deep run in March Madness. Syracuse basketball, while an exceptional program, simply doesn’t have the same pedigree.

Of course, this is all speculation at this juncture, but I would imagine both the Orange and Kansas will stay in the mix when Gayle comes out with a list of remaining contenders.

That’s all we can ask for at this point, and hopefully, in the end, Syracuse basketball will prevail in securing the No. 1 prospect in the state of New York within the 2022 class.