Syracuse Basketball: Prep powers with SU targets to form super league

A handful of the country’s top high-school hoops teams are joining together to form a super league, according to various media reports, and these squads’ rosters include several Syracuse basketball recruiting targets.

Per an article by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi, the newly formed National Interscholastic Basketball Conference is preparing to commence operations in the 2021-22 campaign.

The powerhouse league will include eight teams. Two of the participants haven’t been announced, while the other six are the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., the Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., the Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., and the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.

According to the ESPN piece, the eight groups will hold a 10-game regular season, suit up in certain events, and conduct a post-season tournament.

The National Interscholastic Basketball Conference could potentially add other squads down the road. Per ESPN, the league’s half-dozen teams have collectively won the past eight national championships at the high-school level, with the Montverde Academy capturing the crown on five occasions.

Syracuse basketball prospects will play in a new high-school super league.

Let’s take a look at how the Orange’s recruiting efforts tie into this new league. For one, Syracuse basketball 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams is a senior forward at the IMG Academy.

Obviously, he won’t compete in this new high-school league, although his squad is often one of the top prep-school teams nationwide. Orange 2022 target Quadir Copeland, a three-star point guard, is transferring from the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., to the IMG Academy for his senior year.

Central New York native J.J. Starling is a junior at the La Lumiere School. The 2022 four-star point guard, a top-60 prospect in his class according to most recruiting services, is being recruited hard by the ‘Cuse coaching staff.

Starling previously starred at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y., and plays on the AAU circuit for the Albany City Rocks.

The Wasatch Academy roster features 2022 four-star shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr., a junior who was courted by Syracuse basketball for a long time before committing to Ohio State.

The Oak Hill Academy, for a brief stint, had on its roster 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson. He is now a junior at Corona Centennial High School in Corona, Calif.

Johnson verbally committed to the Orange in February of 2020 but then re-opened his recruiting process back up last November. He recently announced his five finalists, and those contenders include Mike Hopkins-led Washington.

Finally, the Sunrise Christian Academy was one of the best teams during the 2020-21 term, led by senior and 2021 five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler.

Chandler, who was a Syracuse basketball prospect at one point, has committed to Tennessee.

I’m really pumped for Copeland and Starling as it relates to this new high-school league. Both are big-time priority targets for the ‘Cuse in the 2022 class, and they’ll compete against massive competition in the coming campaign.