Syracuse Basketball: Other schools with more buzz for 5-star Elijah Fisher

Syracuse basketball offered a scholarship to elite 2023 prospect Elijah Fisher last summer, and he’s noted the Orange in articles on more than one occasion in recent months.

What’s more, the ‘Cuse has done well recruiting high-level prospects out of Canada, and the 6-foot-7 Fisher is a sophomore at the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario.

He’s also rated as a top-five player within the 2023 class by several of the primary recruiting services.

In all fairness, Fisher’s recruiting process likely has a long way to go, and the recruiting arena is a fickle business. So I’m not saying that the Orange is in any way out of the running for Fisher, an extremely athletic and talented wing who could contend for No. 1 overall in the 2023 cycle.

However, a recent article about Fisher from Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy doesn’t provide me with a whole lot of optimism as it pertains to Fisher ultimately selecting Syracuse basketball.

First and foremost, the headline of Cassidy’s story reads, “Five-star Elijah Fisher high on UK, Kansas, FSU, others.” Nowhere in this piece is the ‘Cuse mentioned.

When Fisher is asked what schools he wants to visit the most when it’s feasible amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, he responds, “When I’m able to visit, the schools that I’m really looking forward to visiting are Florida State, Kansas and Kentucky. They seem like great places and I want to get out there and just see all the history.”

Syracuse basketball could face an uphill battle to secure 2023 five-star Elijah Fisher.

We’ve already detailed that Fisher, despite only in his sophomore year, has a flood of scholarship offers from high-majors including Kansas, Florida State, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Memphis, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Southern California.

"An offer from Kentucky hasn’t happened yet, but Fisher told Cassidy that the Wildcats “are really interested. I really like the leadership there and how involved they are with the players. They’re involved with recruits. They really want to know you. They don’t just offer you. They want to get to know you and have real conversations with you. They’re really trying to get to know me.”"

We’ve seen this show before. If Kentucky offers Fisher, the Wildcats will likely prove the team to beat. Plus, as the ‘Cuse fan base knows all too well, Kentucky has prevailed against Syracuse basketball in the recruiting sweepstakes for several top-flight prospects in recent seasons.

In addition to Kentucky, Cassidy says that Fisher has also “taken a healthy shine” to FSU, Kansas and Oregon. Again, no mention of the Orange here.

Let’s see how this all plays out, but for the time being, it appears that other schools are getting more buzz for Fisher than Syracuse basketball is.