Syracuse Basketball: Competition intensifies for 4-star target Justin Taylor

According to some recruiting analysts, Syracuse basketball coaches have pursued stellar 2022 wing Justin Taylor for a while now and made him one of their biggest priorities in this cycle.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, a junior at the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., has spoken highly of the Orange program in numerous interviews.

Taylor, a top-100 prospect in his class per the majority of recruiting services, also talks to ‘Cuse 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams about potentially joining the team’s 2022 cycle.

But a range of other high-major squads is also in the mix for Taylor, and the list of schools that have offered him scholarships recently expanded.

Taylor revealed on Twitter that he landed a new offer from Florida, which is often one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference.

The Gators captured national championships in 2006 and 2007. More recently, over the past decade or so, Florida has reached numerous Elite Eights as well as a Final Four. Thus, the Gators certainly could prove formidable competition for the Orange and Taylor’s other suitors.

Four-star wing Justin Taylor would shine in the Syracuse basketball system.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff is looking to build upon the recent verbal commitment of wing Kamari Lands to the Orange, its first 2022 recruit. The 6-foot-8 Lands, a junior at Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., is ranked five stars and No. 19 overall in his class by ESPN.

Both Lands and Taylor are wing players, although my sense is that each could suit up at shooting guard or small forward. Additionally, Lands has said that he can play point guard.

Taylor, meanwhile, boasts a bunch of offers beyond Syracuse basketball and Florida. He picked up an offer from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina this past February.

How the recent retirement announced by long-time Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams could affect a possible UNC-Taylor marriage remains to be seen. His other offers include from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Indiana.

In a recent piece on various Orange 2022 recruiting targets, SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister wrote, “Taylor has been arguably Syracuse’s top priority in the entire class for quite some time. The Orange love Taylor’s length, shooting and scoring ability, and believe he would be the perfect fit on both ends of the floor.”