Syracuse Basketball: Five-star Zion Cruz has put up some monster games

Zion Cruz, a 2022 five-star combo guard who received a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball in August of 2019, is playing a key role in leading The Patrick School to a 12-1 record to date in the 2020-21 campaign, as well as a top-50 national ranking from MaxPreps.

The 6-foot-5 Cruz, whose list of offers from high-major teams has expanded to about 20, is averaging 15.8 points, 2.18 rebounds and 2.36 assists per game for The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., where he is a junior.

Those statistics come courtesy of Cruz’s bio on nj.com, where you can also find out more about how The Patrick School is performing in 2020-21.

His performances so far in the present stanza include one contest where Cruz notched 27 points and 10 assists, along with other games where he collected 30 points and 23 points.

In one of The Patrick School’s recent encounters, the team edged the Life Center Academy out of Burlington, N.J., by a final margin of 44-43. Cruz tallied 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Life Center Academy’s roster features 2022 three-star prospect Quadir Copeland, a 6-foot-6 point guard who landed an offer from the Orange this past November.

Against Cruz and The Patrick School, Copeland paced the Life Center Academy in scoring with 15 points, and he also registered six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Syracuse basketball 2022 prospect Zion Cruz can score in droves.

Cruz and his teammates at The Patrick School are having a strong term, and the squad is rated No. 49 nationally at this juncture, per MaxPreps.

While Cruz has impressive offers from the likes of Baylor, Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Alabama, Florida State, UCLA, Connecticut, Louisville, Maryland, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Indiana, among others, he hasn’t released any sort of list of finalists yet.

Some recruiting analysts have said that they think Cruz will end up at a blue-blood school. Kentucky, for one, has reportedly shown interest in him. But I haven’t seen any predictions from analysts to this point, so for me, Cruz’s recruitment seems a little tough to gauge.

One thing is clear. Cruz, who is rated in the top-20 overall within his class by numerous recruiting services, is ultra-talented and supremely athletic. Whatever collegiate program secures Cruz’s services will be getting an elite player.