Syracuse basketball showing interest in pair of big-time forward prospects

Syracuse basketball continues to be assertive with its recruiting efforts for the 2022 and 2023 cycles, both of which could ultimately prove stellar for the Orange.

According to several reports, the ‘Cuse coaching staff is displaying interest in 2022 wing Amarri Tice and 2023 power forward Papa Kante.

A tweet from the Recruits Zone and an article from SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister detail the news on Tice, while the development with Kante is noted in a separate tweet from the Recruits Zone.

The 6-foot-7 Tice is from Newburgh, N.Y., which is a couple of hours away from the Syracuse University campus. He previously suited up for the Newburgh Free Academy, according to McAllister.

Tice, a small forward, said in a recent tweet that he has elected to transfer to the South Kent School in South Kent, Conn. He has competed on the AAU circuit with the Albany City Rocks.

The 6-foot-10 Kante, meanwhile, attends the South Kent School as well. Former Orange players Elijah Hughes and Matthew Moyer also played for this prep school.

On the AAU circuit, Kante competes for the Boston-based Expressions Elite Basketball, where his teammate is ‘Cuse 2023 prospect Gavin Griffiths.

Syracuse basketball is taking a look at two forwards in future classes.

In checking out a variety of sources online, Tice holds numerous scholarship offers at this juncture, including from Rick Pitino-led Iona, UMass, UMBC, Siena and Albany.

Among the other teams expressing interest in him are Mike Hopkins-led Washington, Georgia Tech, St. John’s, Georgia, East Carolina and Tulsa.

Per McAllister’s story, Orange associate head coach Adrian Autry reached out to Tice, who says that he was “excited to hear from” Syracuse basketball.

Kante, on the other hand, has offers from Pittsburgh, Rutgers, TCU, Massachusetts and Siena, as well as interest from Georgetown, Tennessee and Ohio State.

While Kante and Tice aren’t ranked by the primary recruiting services for the time being, they both appear to be talented high-school players whose stock is on the rise.

I would imagine that many more offers will arrive for each prospect, and we’ll of course continue to follow their recruiting processes as it relates to the ‘Cuse.