Syracuse Basketball: 4-star J.J. Starling sets visit, but Duke offer alarming

Syracuse basketball 2022 high-priority target J.J. Starling will make a trip to the Hill in the near future, which is terrific. Conversely, he just picked up a scholarship offer from another blue-blood school, which makes the Orange’s chances of landing him potentially even more challenging.

According to media reports and his bios on several recruiting Web sites, the 6-foot-3 point guard now has an offer from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Duke.

It’s true that by the time the four-star Starling sets foot on a college campus, legendary Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski will have retired and passed on the reins in Durham, N.C., to long-time assistant coach Jon Scheyer.

However, from my perspective, Duke is still Duke. It remains to be seen whether the Blue Devils will experience any kind of dip in recruiting as a result of Krzyzewski retiring. Regardless, I firmly believe that Duke will pose a significant threat to the ‘Cuse as it pertains to Starling’s recruitment.

Plus, Starling has numerous other high-major offers. He recently told Tipton Edits that he’s being recruited the hardest by 11 squads, and they are Syracuse basketball, Auburn, Alabama, blue-blood Kansas, Northwestern, Miami, Notre Dame, Maryland, Connecticut, Stanford and Penn State.

I’m not in Starling’s inner circle, but Duke and Kansas worry me the most.

Syracuse basketball will soon welcome four-star J.J. Starling to the Orange campus.

Mike Curtis of Syracuse.com recently tweeted out that Starling plans to make an official visit to Central New York on June 25-27, and then he will travel to UConn on June 28-30. Starling had an official visit to Maryland toward the beginning of June.

It’s an encouraging sign that Starling, a Central New York native, will use one of his five NCAA-allowed official visits per recruiting cycle to meet with the ‘Cuse coaching staff and Orange players.

Starling is a top-60 prospect within the 2022 class, according to most recruiting services. He is a junior at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., previously starred at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y., and competes for the Albany City Rocks on the AAU circuit.

From what I’ve read on social media and in chat rooms, Starling is taking his time with his recruiting process and is in no rush to announce a collegiate destination. Starling is also likely headed toward five-star status.

He has said that he’s in consistent communication with Syracuse basketball, and Starling obviously has numerous ties to the CNY region.

The Orange is recruiting three stellar point guards in this cycle, and Starling is one of them. The ‘Cuse still probably has a decent shot at him, but the blue-blood offers could prove tough to turn down.