Syracuse Basketball: More big-time accolades for five-star Benny Williams

Yet another national honor has arrived for Syracuse basketball 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams.

The 6-foot-8 Williams, a senior at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., has received inclusion on the 2021 roster of the Jordan Brand Classic, an annual all-star game for elite high-school basketball players.

In a press release, the organizers of the Jordan Brand Classic detailed the 30 boys and 30 girls in the 2021 recruiting cycle who would have played in this event, although the game is not moving forward due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This is a tremendous recognition for Williams, who is expected to soon arrive on campus in Central New York. The Jordan Brand Classic is in its 20th year, and the announcement says that the all-star game “is a celebration of the next generation of basketball stars and features the top high school talent in the country annually.”

By the way, former Orange legend Carmelo Anthony, who led the squad to its only national championship in 2003, is an alumnus of the Jordan Brand Classic.

Congratulations to Benny on this wonderful accomplishment. The native of Bowie, Md., put forth a stellar senior campaign for the IMG Academy, which is one of the best prep-school teams nationwide. Five players from the IMG Academy are on the Jordan Brand Classic’s 2021 roster.

Syracuse basketball recruit Benny Williams also suited up in another recent event.

Earlier in May, Williams competed in the 2021 Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, a major All-American contest that took place in Memphis, Tenn. This event featured an abundance of top-20 prospects in the 2021 class.

Additionally, Spalding recently unveiled its All-American teams for members of the 2021 cycle, and Williams was placed in the honorable-mention category.

All of these accolades further illustrate just how good Williams has been at the high school level, and also how much promise he has to shine in college and beyond.

The primary recruiting services rank him as a consensus top-40 player in the 2021 class. Most recruiting Web sites have Williams as four stars.

However, Rivals.com recently published its final national rankings for this cycle, and Williams checks in as five stars, No. 18 overall and No. 7 at small forward.

Without question, he is one of the highest-rated recruits for Syracuse basketball in recent program history. I can’t wait to see Williams don a ‘Cuse uniform.