Syracuse basketball among ‘two strongest’ for Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

Syracuse basketball continues to receive solid buzz for 2022 five-star power forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, according to several recruiting analysts.

The 6-foot-9 Huntley-Hatfield, a junior at Scotland Campus in Scotland, Pa., received a scholarship offer from the Orange last December and immediately put the ‘Cuse into his group of finalists, along with Ole Miss, Kansas, Wake Forest, Tennessee and Auburn.

The No. 1 power forward and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the 2022 cycle, according to both the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports, Huntley-Hatfield is also rated a top-10 prospect across the country in his class by the majority of recruiting services.

Undoubtedly, he’s a game-changer for the Syracuse basketball 2022 class if Huntley-Hatfield elects to don an Orange uniform, and some reports seem to indicate that the ‘Cuse has an excellent chance of landing him.

Syracuse basketball keeps on pursuing 2022 five-star prospect Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.

Jerry Meyer, a 247Sports national analyst, discussed Huntley-Hatfield in a recent article. Meyer wrote, in part, that Meyer is “slightly leaning Ole Miss, but Syracuse is definitely right in there with Ole Miss. It looks like they are the two strongest schools with him now.”

We’ve detailed in recent columns how multiple analysts and recruiting insiders on the 247Sports Web site and Rivals.com have predicted that Huntley-Hatfield will ultimately select Ole Miss, which is a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Ole Miss, and some of his other finalists, have definitely been recruiting Huntley-Hatfield for a longer period of time, although he has spoken quite positively of late about the Orange coaching staff and the ‘Cuse program as a whole.

Regarding Syracuse basketball, Huntley-Hatfield recently told Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten, “Being one of the highest recruits to come there could be legendary, but, as well as being able to lead a team I feel like that would be my role there so it’s good. We will see.”

"Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, recently wrote in part about Huntley-Hatfield, “When Syracuse offered, he expanded it to a top six and the Orange have had some buzz here ever since. Syracuse has remained in constant contact, conducting multiple zoom calls and showing him how much of a priority he is for their 2022 class. Ole Miss is Syracuse’s biggest competition here. He has taken an official visit there and has a long standing relationship with their coaching staff. That said, the longer this goes the better for Syracuse. It gives them a chance to continue to gain momentum and communicate their plan to highlight his elite skill set. Syracuse is also closer to home and is a more prestigious program historically. He has wanted to wait to decide until he can take visits, but the NCAA has delayed that through at least the end of May.”"

You never know how things will exactly shake out in the unpredictable recruiting world, but it does appear that the Orange or Ole Miss may be in the best shape to prevail in the sweepstakes for Huntley-Hatfield.