Syracuse Basketball: Five-star Zion Cruz has a team at the top of his list

Elite 2022 prospect Zion Cruz, who received a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball back in August of 2019, said in a recent interview that he would like to announce his collegiate destination in the coming months.

And, at least for now, it appears that he has a team in mind as the front-runner to land him. The 6-foot-5 Cruz, a stellar combo guard and a junior at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., recently took an official visit to Auburn.

"In an article by auburn.rivals.com senior editor Jeffrey Lee, Cruz said that the Tigers “are at the top of my list. I love the family feel at Auburn. It’s a big family and I’m really big on that.”"

Of course, the recruiting business is a fickle and sometimes unpredictable world, so things could change for Cruz, who runs on the AAU circuit with the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals.

However, I’ve read numerous articles that suggest Auburn is in an excellent position to potentially land Cruz, who is a top-20 player in the 2022 class, according to most recruiting services.

Led by head coach Bruce Pearl, the Tigers are an excellent squad out of the Southeastern Conference. Auburn reached the 2019 Final Four and has done well on the recruiting trail of late.

Interestingly enough, another 2022 five-star prospect with an Orange offer, forward Jarace Walker at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., also recently took an official visit to the Auburn campus.

Syracuse basketball is looking like a long-shot for five-star guard Zion Cruz.

Per his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Cruz is scheduled to make a trip to Oregon on June 13, and from what I can tell, a visit to North Carolina is likely to occur as well.

Oregon, by the way, is the new home of former ‘Cuse sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier, who elected to transfer from the Orange to the Pac-12 Conference team while also continuing to test the NBA Draft waters.

According to several recent comments by analysts and other recruiting insiders, Cruz is performing quite well in recent AAU competitions as the spring circuit soon shifts to summer events.

One of the best combo guards in his class, Cruz has a boatload of other high-major offers, from squads such as Florida State, Baylor, Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama, UCLA, Connecticut, Louisville, Maryland, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Indiana.

Cruz said to Lee, “I want to make a commitment by the end of the summer.”