Syracuse Basketball: Benny Williams, Justin Taylor ‘become pretty close’

Syracuse basketball 2022 high-priority target Justin Taylor is slated to take an official visit to the Hill in the near future, and he will have a familiar face in Orange 2021 commit Benny Williams to show him around the campus.

We’ve detailed in several columns how the five-star Williams and the four-star Taylor have communicated about the possibility of Taylor becoming a member of the ‘Cuse 2022 class.

I believe that Syracuse basketball has a strong chance of landing the 6-foot-6 Taylor, who is a junior at the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.

That being said, competition for the four-star wing is steep, and we need Williams to help out some! The 6-foot-8 Williams, a forward who recently wrapped up his senior campaign at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., previously played high-school ball in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region.

Taylor has said in the past that he and Williams, a top-20 prospect in the 2021 cycle according to Rivals.com, have played together on the AAU circuit for the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover.

A top-100 guy in the 2022 class, Taylor is scheduled to take an official visit to Central New York on June 9-10, according to various media reports. Taylor has other visits lined up in June as well.

Benny Williams and Justin Taylor would make a great combo for Syracuse basketball.

Williams recently caught up for a Q&A with Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI. They discussed a variety of topics, including whom Williams is helping to recruit to the Orange.

When Taylor travels to the Hill for his official visit, Williams said that Taylor will be with him “most of the time,” according to McAllister’s piece.

"Williams added, in part, that he and Taylor have “become pretty close. We worked out last summer a lot, pretty much every other day. Watching him go from one of those guys who wasn’t shooting a lot to getting his shots. That’s just all confidence and playing competition.”"

Whether Taylor picks Syracuse basketball or not, it’s really cool to hear how he and Williams are forming a nice relationship. They’re both among the top players in their respective cycles.

Additionally, based on interviews that I’ve read from each prospect, Williams and Taylor are confident, hard-working and humble young men.

The ‘Cuse and its fan base are lucky to have Williams suiting up for the team later on this year, and we would all be equally as lucky if Taylor decided to join Williams on the Syracuse basketball roster the following year.