Syracuse Basketball: Long-time target Roddy Gayle Jr. opts for Big Ten

Syracuse basketball had a mixed bag on the recruiting trail in recent days, with Roddy Gayle Jr. not coming to the Hill.

Syracuse basketball and its fan base have gone through a topsy-turvy recruiting week that culminated on Friday night with 2022 four-star shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. selecting a team other than the Orange.

First up, 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson announced that he would reopen his recruitment and thus de-commit from the ‘Cuse, although head coach Jim Boeheim told a different story on a Zoom call with myself and other media members.

Then, in a dose of positive news, Benny Williams signed his national letter of intent to compete for Syracuse basketball. Williams, a 2021 small forward who is rated five stars and No. 22 overall by Rivals.com, is the Orange’s sole pledge to date in this cycle.

Finally, on Friday evening, Gayle said via YouTube that he would attend Ohio State out of the Big Ten Conference. Gayle, a top-80 prospect nationally in the 2022 class, picked the Buckeyes over other finalists Syracuse basketball, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Georgetown.

Gayle’s decision doesn’t come as much of a surprise, at least recently, as throughout this week, nine recruiting experts logged predictions for him to Ohio State.

That being said, Orange coaches had pursued the 6-foot-5 Gayle for quite some time, and multiple recruiting analysts told me not too long ago that they viewed the ‘Cuse as in a really strong position to land the junior out of Lewiston-Porter High School in Youngstown, N.Y.

Syracuse basketball has lost the recruiting sweepstakes over 2022 target Roddy Gayle Jr.

As much as the Johnson news hurt, I think for a lot of Orange fans, missing out on Gayle stings even more. That’s because many ‘Cuse fanatics assumed that Johnson would never set foot on the Hill, but rather head straight from high school to the professional ranks.

The Orange, meanwhile, appeared to have a solid buzz as it relates to Gayle, even though Syracuse basketball didn’t receive any official analyst projections for him prior to Gayle’s commitment announcement.

Within the 2022 class, at present Gayle is rated No. 43 overall by Prep Hoops, No. 54 by 247Sports, No. 54 by Rivals.com and No. 76 by the 247Sports Composite.

The 247Sports Composite and 247Sports itself both rank him as the No. 7 shooting guard in this cycle, as well as the No. 1 prospect in New York state.

Despite Johnson moving on and Gayle choosing a Big Ten team, the Orange remains in pursuit of a bevy of really good players in the 2022 class. Boeheim said on Thursday during his virtual call with reporters he’s hopeful that Syracuse basketball will secure some of these talented 2022 prospects.