Syracuse basketball coaches recruiting 4-star Justin Taylor ‘super hard’

Syracuse basketball coaches, including head coach Jim Boeheim, are clearly prioritizing 2022 four-star wing Justin Taylor in this cycle, and I’m hopeful that this will pay off in the form of Taylor committing to the ‘Cuse.

Any day now, the 6-foot-6 Taylor could trim his list of contenders, likely to around five teams, according to various media reports. In fact, Taylor could have already done so by the time that this article publishes.

To that end, I would be absolutely shocked if Syracuse basketball isn’t among the final group of suitors for Taylor, who is a junior at the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.

Taylor is scheduled to take an official visit to the Hill on June 9-10, per multiple reports. He’s also planning to make official visits next month to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina and Big Ten Conference squad Indiana, according to a piece by 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London.

London adds that Taylor is expected to have unofficial visits with Virginia Tech and Virginia. For a while now, I’ve felt that when Taylor reveals a list of finalists, the top contenders would amount to the Orange, UNC, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

However, Taylor does hold numerous other scholarship offers, including recent ones from Connecticut and Florida. Additionally, per London, “Villanova is showing high interest.” That concerns me, as the Wildcats do well on the recruiting trail and captured national championships in 2016 and 2018.

Syracuse basketball is in a recruiting battle for four-star wing Justin Taylor.

Tipton Edits also recently tweeted out that, according to Taylor himself, he is being recruited the hardest by the ‘Cuse, the Tar Heels, the Cavaliers, the Hoosiers and the Hokies.

Taylor is performing well on the AAU circuit so far this spring. He’s displaying his skills on both ends of the floor, as well as his versatility in scoring in ways beyond just shooting from the perimeter.

It wouldn’t surprise me if, during his senior year of high school, he continues to climb up the national rankings for the 2022 class. In London’s story, Taylor broke down his recruitment by several teams.

"Here’s what Taylor had to say about Syracuse basketball. “Coach Gmac (Gerry McNamara) and Coach (Jim) Boeheim have been recruiting me super hard for a while now. They produce a lot of guards and wings similar to me and I watched a lot of Buddy Boeheim this year, which is how they would use me. They would do similar plays they do for him for me, like coming off pindowns and ball screens. They’ve always had similar guys like him so I would be filling Buddy’s role since he will be gone. I’m really just excited to get down there and see a lot of these campuses in person for the first time.”"

Nothing is ever a guarantee in the fickle recruiting business, however, based on comments from analysts and other insiders in recent months, I believe that the ‘Cuse has an excellent chance at landing Taylor.