Syracuse basketball 5-star target Zion Cruz ‘likely lands’ at blue blood

Syracuse basketball continues to pursue 2022 five-star guard Zion Cruz, but the Orange faces a tall task to win this recruiting bout.

Syracuse basketball got in relatively early with Zion Cruz, a top-25 player nationally in the 2022 cycle, which is encouraging. However, one recruiting expert says that he thinks Cruz will ultimately head to a blue-blood program.

Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, recently held a Q&A session where recruiting enthusiasts, myself included, got to ask him a range of questions.

One person asked Weingarten about Cruz and the possibility of him choosing former Big East Conference rival Connecticut (yuck).

Weingarten responded that the Huskies are “in the mix with some other schools but I think for me it’s likely he lands at a blue blood school. Kentucky has already shown interest and I think it only goes up from [there].”

Generally speaking, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are considered the sport’s blue bloods, although some folks do consider others in this group, such as Gonzaga, Indiana, UCLA and Villanova.

Regardless, the ‘Cuse is not a blue blood, even though the Orange is one of the most successful squads in the history of college basketball. The ‘Cuse, by the way, offered a scholarship to the 6-foot-5 Cruz back in the summer of 2019.

A national recruiting analyst says he believes Syracuse basketball 2022 target Zion Cruz will likely end up with a blue-blood team.

Until recently, Cruz and Orange 2022 five-star commit Dior Johnson suited up together for the powerhouse prep-school squad at the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

I always felt that the best chance for the ‘Cuse to prevail in the Cruz recruiting sweepstakes centered on him finding it appealing to compete alongside Johnson in high school, and then on the Hill.

However, Cruz has transferred from the Oak Hill Academy to The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., and Johnson is no longer at the Oak Hill Academy. Additionally, Johnson’s high-school future, for the moment, is unclear.

Already, Cruz has a range of really impressive scholarship offers, and it wouldn’t surprise me one iota if he gets offers from squads including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Since Cruz is only a junior, his recruiting process could extend on for some time, but Syracuse basketball boasts an immense challenge in attempting to secure him.