Syracuse basketball 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams helped recruit 2022 four-star wing Justin Taylor to the Hill, and now Taylor is looking to do his part to bring other top-flight targets from the 2022 class to Central New York.
The 6-foot-6 Taylor, who is a junior at the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., gave a verbal commitment to the Orange this past Saturday. The top-60 prospect chose the ‘Cuse over North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Virginia.
Taylor gives the Orange two elite members to date in its 2022 cycle, with the other being fellow four-star wing Kamari Lands, a junior at Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., who is a top-25 player in this class.
The ‘Cuse coaching staff continues to pursue multiple excellent prospects in the 2022 cycle, and Taylor has his sights set on two high-priority targets to join him on the Hill.
Syracuse basketball commit Justin Taylor is pitching the Orange to other 2022 stars.
In a recent interview with SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, Taylor was asked about other 2022 prospects he is helping to recruit to the Orange.
Taylor mentioned two guys whom ‘Cuse fanatics will be excited to hear about, and they are four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski and four-star point guard Quadir Copeland.
The 6-foot-10 Filipowski took an official visit to Syracuse basketball toward the beginning of June, while the 6-foot-6 Copeland had an official visit to the Orange more recently. Both are big-time targets for Syracuse basketball in this cycle.
"Taylor said in part to McAllister, “I’ve been talking to Quadir a lot, he loved his visit. Just got back from his and obviously Kyle took his right before mine. I think they both loved it. I think we could build a really, really special class with Kamari already committed and Benny most likely being there when we’re there. I think we can definitely build something special at Syracuse.”"
I 100 percent agree with Taylor’s assessment. While the ‘Cuse has three point-guard targets in the 2022 class, I’m high on Copeland and think he is the most realistic option for the Orange.
In his upcoming senior season, Copeland will suit up for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., which also happens to be where Williams played prior to coming on board with the ‘Cuse.
Filipowski, a junior at the Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Mass., is one of the best big men in this cycle. He has a slew of high-major offers. Duke is also in the mix, which concerns me.
Syracuse basketball has all kinds of momentum with its 2022 class. Adding Copeland and Filipowski would certainly provide a huge boost and possibly give the Orange a top-10 cycle on a national scale.