Syracuse Basketball: Five-star, top-20 Zion Cruz starting to line up visits

Official visits are beginning to get mapped out for high-school prospects across the country, and Syracuse basketball 2022 five-star prospect Zion Cruz has scheduled his first trip.

According to a tweet from college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, Cruz plans to take an official visit to Southeastern Conference member Auburn on June 5-6.

Cruz, an elite combo guard in the 2022 cycle, is a junior at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., and suits up for the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals on the AAU circuit.

The majority of recruiting services rate the 6-foot-5 Cruz as five stars and a top-20 player nationally in his class. ESPN, though, has Cruz as four stars and No. 29 overall.

The Orange offered a scholarship to Cruz back in August of 2019, so the ‘Cuse coaching staff has courted him for a while now. That being said, these days I’m not seeing a whole lot of chatter from recruiting insiders about buzz between Syracuse basketball and Cruz.

He has around 20 offers from a range of high-major squads, with the most recent arriving from Big East Conference team Creighton. The Bluejays, not too long ago, also picked up a commitment from 2021 four-star power forward Arthur Kaluma, who was considering the Orange, too.

Let’s see if Syracuse basketball 2022 five-star target Zion Cruz pays a visit to Central New York.

Cruz recently told Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy that he is keeping all of his options open for the time being. However, Cruz did say in the interview that he would like to visit Auburn, Georgia and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference group Florida State.

At this juncture, I’m not seeing any predictions from analysts as it pertains to Cruz’s ultimate collegiate destination. The ‘Cuse, though, likely doesn’t have a great chance at prevailing in this recruiting battle.

A top-five combo guard and the No. 1 prospect in New Jersey, per the 247Sports Composite, Cruz has offers from high-quality teams such as Baylor, Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Alabama, UCLA, Connecticut, Louisville, Maryland, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Indiana. Kentucky has also reportedly shown interest.

While it remains to be determined whether Cruz might travel to the Hill for a visit, Syracuse basketball has locked in officials next month with 2022 four-star wing Justin Taylor from the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., and 2022 four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski out of the Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Mass.