Syracuse Basketball: Competition may be on rise for 4-star Chance Westry

Syracuse basketball has long pursued 2022 four-star combo guard Chance Westry, whom some recruiting analysts say may attain five-star status at some point.

While the Orange coaching staff got in relatively early on with the 6-foot-5 Westry, he does hold a ton of scholarship offers from a bevy of high-major squads. Westry is a junior at the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif.

Additionally, even though not a lot of new offers have arrived for Westry since last summer, I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes in a relatively quick manner.

For one, recruiting guru Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, recently tweeted out that former Big East Conference rivals Marquette and Connecticut have both reached out to Westry.

That’s absolutely something to monitor. Dan Hurley, the head coach of the Huskies, has UConn on a positive trajectory. Hurley has done well on the recruiting trail of late, and the Huskies certainly have won out in recruiting battles with the ‘Cuse on several occasions in recent years.

As it pertains to Marquette, the Golden Eagles have a new head coach in Shaka Smart. Smart led VCU on a surprising run to the Final Four back in 2011. More recently, while at the helm of Texas, Smart landed a bunch of elite high-school prospects and had multiple players selected in the NBA Draft.

Syracuse basketball remains in the hunt for 2022 four-star guard Chance Westry.

With NCAA officials recently announcing that all Division I sports can resume regular recruiting activities beginning on June 1, I’m hopeful that Westry will take an official visit to the Hill.

But the Orange is facing steep competition for Westry, who is a consensus top-55 prospect in the 2022 cycle. His other current offers include from Michigan, Virginia, Louisville, Memphis, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Miami, Florida, Maryland, Southern California, LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, Providence, St. John’s, VCU, Georgia and Temple.

ESPN recently updated its national rankings for the 2022 class, and Westry is No. 52 overall in this cycle. Other primary recruiting services place him in the top-40 nationally within the 2022 class.

A lot of Syracuse basketball fanatics on social media and in chat rooms really want Westry to choose the ‘Cuse, but some of these fans are skeptical.

Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, recently said in part that “Westry has been high on Syracuse for quite some time. Maryland is the Orange’s biggest competition here.”