Syracuse Basketball: How 2022 class may change w/o Dior Johnson

Should 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson not play for Syracuse basketball, that could shift some things around in the team’s 2022 cycle.

Ever since 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson revealed this past February that he had committed to Syracuse basketball, some Orange fans have understandably feared that the elite prospect would never make it to the Hill, and head straight to the professional ranks instead.

Given recent developments surrounding Johnson, who has enrolled in a new high school on the West Coast but has still moved around a lot in recent years, it’s logical to think that he could potentially forgo college for the NBA’s G League, although this is pure speculation for now.

However, if Johnson doesn’t ever arrive in Central New York to compete for the ‘Cuse, that could absolutely change the make-up of the Syracuse basketball 2022 class. For one, the Orange would have an additional scholarship available in this cycle to secure another guard, wing or even a big man.

Recruiting analyst and journalist Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, said in a recent Q&A session that should Johnson not play for the ‘Cuse, it won’t necessarily change the Orange coaching staff’s priorities.

Syracuse basketball, McAllister notes, will continue to focus on other top 2022 targets, such as four-star shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr., four-star wing Justin Taylor, four-star guard Chance Westry, four-star center Donovan Clingan and three-star center Riley Mulvey.

But if Johnson is of the equation, that could lead four-star point guard J.J. Starling to “look at Syracuse as a more realistic option,” McAllister says. Starling, a Central New York product, is attending the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.

Regarding all of these other targets, McAllister says that the Orange has “a realistic shot” with each of them. “Clingan will be a national recruit and tough to get, but they’ve done a really good job early,” McAllister says.

Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, said in a separate recent Q&A that Clingan has “plenty of suitors involved” and no particular front-runners at this juncture.

Syracuse basketball is getting buzz pertaining to Mulvey, although the ‘Cuse would only get either him or Clingan, and not both of them.

The hope is that Johnson makes it to CNY, but if he doesn’t, the Orange could definitely still acquire a strong class, if it possibly lands Starling; Gayle, Westry or Taylor; and either Clingan or Mulvey.