Syracuse Basketball: For 2022 PGs, may boil down to who commits first
By Neil Adler
I am really fascinated by the point-guard situation as it relates to the three Syracuse basketball targets in the 2022 class.
What I mean by that is, I think that the Orange has at least a decent chance to land any one of them, although I wouldn’t necessarily consider the ‘Cuse the clear-cut favorite for four-stars Quadir Copeland, J.J. Starling or Chance Westry.
In part, that’s because these high-school juniors could have a bit of a way to go in their recruiting processes. All three are elite point guards in this cycle, and all three of them possess a multitude of impressive high-major offers.
I do think that it’s likely the Orange will secure the services of one of them, although you never know with this recruiting stuff. The ‘Cuse could certainly swing and miss on all three. That would sting.
Syracuse basketball is in the running for three excellent 2022 point guards.
Ultimately, the point-guard issue for the Orange in this class may come down to which prospect commits first. I know, that sounds simplistic and obvious. I get it.
But hear me out. All three are four-star players. All three have taken an official visit to the Hill. Starling and Westry are generally considered top-50 guys, while Copeland is moving on up in the national rankings for this cycle.
I’m not an insider who knows the inner workings of the Syracuse basketball staff. However, if one of these point guards wants to commit, I can’t imagine the ‘Cuse coaching staff saying no, because it wants to hold out for one of the other targets. That would prove risky.
Plus, if and when one of these prospects does commit to Syracuse basketball, it’s more likely than not that the other two will head to a different college team, since they play the same position.
So for me, because they’re all exquisite players, it’s first come, first serve (sorry, bad cliché). We’ll of course continue to monitor the recruiting processes of all three 2022 point guards.
National analysts and recruiting insiders haven’t really made predictions about the college destinations of these three players, but I’ll give my take here.
As it currently stands, I think that the Orange has the most realistic shot at getting Copeland, followed by Central New York native Starling and Westry, who may have some professional options on the table straight out of high school.
For Syracuse basketball, it’s a “good” problem to have that the ‘Cuse remains in contention for this trio of top-notch 2022 point guards.