More Syracuse basketball targets eyed by former Big East rival UConn

Syracuse basketball and Connecticut have a storied history on the court as long-time Big East Conference rivals. Six overtimes in 2009, anyone?

But the Orange and the Huskies, given their geographic ties to the Northeast, also have engaged in plenty of recruiting battles over the years.

And UConn, which is on an upward trajectory under head coach Dan Hurley, recently has gotten into the mix for various high-school prospects who also own offers from the ‘Cuse.

We recently detailed that Connecticut is showing interest in 2022 four-star combo guard Chance Westry, who is a junior at the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif. That’s according to recruiting guru and Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten.

Westry is a consensus top-55 player in the 2022 cycle and has been on the radar of the Orange coaching staff for a while now, as the team offered him in July of 2019. A bevy of ‘Cuse fanatics has Westry at the top of their wish list for the Orange’s 2022 class.

Syracuse basketball and UConn could go toe to toe for several elite 2022 prospects.

Another new development related to this theme is that stellar 2022 point guard Quadir Copeland has received an offer from the Huskies. He disclosed this via his Twitter page.

Copeland, a talented yet under-rated player in this cycle, recently said that he would transfer from the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior year.

Given that the IMG Academy is one of the premier prep-school squads across the country, Copeland is going to be on a national stage, and his offer list undoubtedly will continue to grow.

Last November, the ‘Cuse offered Copeland. His other offers include from Oregon, Miami, Maryland, Penn State, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s and Siena.

Per a recent report, Copeland is hoping to set up some official visits soon, and Syracuse basketball is one of the teams with which he’d like to connect on such a trip.

At present, Copeland is a three-star prospect in the 2022 class, but I believe he will ultimately get ranked as four stars and in the top-100 overall for his cycle.

Connecticut has also offered numerous other players who are 2022 targets of the Orange, too. They include five-star combo guard Zion Cruz at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., five-star forward Jarace Walker, who attends the IMG Academy, and four-star center Donovan Clingan from Bristol Central High School in Bristol, Conn.

In recent recruiting cycles, other prospects whom the Huskies and Syracuse basketball have competed over include 2021 four-star big man Samson Johnson, 2020 four-star wing Andre Jackson, 2019 five-star power forward Akok Akok and 2018 four-star guard Jalen Carey.