Syracuse basketball doesn’t make final four of 4-star Micawber Etienne

Syracuse basketball seemed to have lost any type of momentum with 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne a while ago.

The Syracuse basketball 2021 class is going to stay at one member, albeit an excellent one, after four-star center Micawber Etienne released a quartet of finalists that didn’t include the Orange.

The 6-foot-10 Etienne, a top-65 prospect nationally in this recruiting cycle, revealed via Twitter a final four of Illinois out of the Big Ten Conference, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Miami, former Big East Conference foe Marquette and UCLA out of the Pac-12 Conference.

Etienne is a senior at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., who runs on the AAU circuit with the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals. Miami, Illinois and Marquette all have gotten a lot of buzz lately as it pertains to Etienne, according to recruiting analysts. He has spoken highly of UCLA’s rich history within its hoops program as well.

Syracuse basketball not staying in the mix for Etienne is definitely a huge bummer, but in all honesty, it’s not much of a surprise at all.

In an article by Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, Etienne said that he plans to likely commit “within the next month.” Etienne is a really talented player with NBA potential, and he is also an extremely likable young man. I wish him all the best and much future success.

Syracuse basketball is not in contention for 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne.

In the past, Etienne said in interviews that he had built up a solid relationship with the ‘Cuse coaching staff, and for some period of time, the Orange got mentioned as a possible serious contender.

"However, Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, recently noted in a Q&A session that Syracuse basketball appeared “to be on the outside looking in at this point in time. Happened several weeks ago. There was some hope at one point that Syracuse would be a major player throughout, but it seems Illinois jumped to the forefront several weeks ago. There are other schools involved as well, but the Orange are on the outside. I wouldn’t count on him joining the class.”"

The recruiting trail has proven a bit of a roller-coaster of late for the ‘Cuse. Etienne is out of the picture. Arthur Kaluma, a 2021 four-star power forward and top-60 player, recently committed to UNLV after having the Orange in his top eight.

Roddy Gayle Jr., a 2022 four-star shooting guard, selected Ohio State this past Friday after putting Syracuse basketball in his top six. Dior Johnson, a 2022 five-star point guard, de-committed from the ‘Cuse last week.

However, one bright spot is that 2021 five-star small forward Benny Williams has signed his national letter of intent to compete for the Orange. So the team’s 2021 class is going to prove small in size, but it packs a significant punch in terms of quality.