Syracuse Basketball: Oh boy, blue-blood enters mix for 4-star J.J. Starling

Syracuse basketball remains in consistent communication with Central New York native and 2022 four-star point guard J.J. Starling, he recently said in an interview. But competition for the 6-foot-3 point guard is absolutely heating up.

According to this tweet below, Starling has landed new offers from blue-blood squad Kansas as well as Pac-12 Conference member Stanford. This is a fairly big deal, in my humble opinion.

As it relates to the Jayhawks, they are annually one of the top teams in both the Big 12 Conference and throughout the country. Stanford, meanwhile, is a solid Pac-12 group and one of the premier academic institutions nationwide.

Look, Starling already had a bunch of impressive offers, so the Orange would have had its hands full regardless to win out in this recruiting bout. However, Kansas really concerns me.

The Jayhawks in recent years have recruited and developed numerous excellent guards who ultimately went on to the professional ranks.

Syracuse basketball 2022 prospect J.J. Starling has seen his recruitment expand.

Starling is a junior at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., which is one of the best prep-school teams in the country. He had a stellar junior term and undoubtedly will shine on the AAU circuit for the Albany City Rocks, whose alumni include a bunch of current and former ‘Cuse players.

A top-60 prospect nationally in his class, according to the majority of recruiting services, Starling previously starred at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y. Given his ties to Central New York, he likely knows the Syracuse basketball program fairly well.

Since high-school players are able to go on official visits in the near future, I’m hoping that Starling will elect to make a trip to the Hill.

In a recent chat with Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy, Starling said in part, “I talk to Syracuse the most. We talk on the phone the most.”

Now, this doesn’t mean that he will end up selecting the Orange, but it is an encouraging sign, from my perspective. The ‘Cuse coaching staff did get in early on with Starling, offering him a scholarship back in August of 2019.

However, his list of offers keeps on growing. Besides Syracuse basketball, Kansas and Stanford, others to offer Starling include Maryland, Mike Hopkins-led Washington, Nate Oats-led Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami, St. John’s, Connecticut, Marquette, Providence, Penn State and Wake Forest.

Like I said earlier, that’s hefty competition for the Orange. And with the Jayhawks now in the fray, the recruiting battle over Starling has gotten even more intense.