Syracuse Basketball: Kentucky has serious interest in elite 5-star target

Syracuse basketball, over the years, has fared well recruiting players who hail from Canada, and the Orange offered a scholarship last summer to 2023 five-star prospect Elijah Fisher, one of the best high-school players regardless of class designation or country of origin.

The 6-foot-7 wing is a sophomore at the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario. Recruiting services list him as either a shooting guard or a small forward.

Despite his recruiting process likely having a way to go, Fisher holds a bunch of high-major offers from teams beyond the ‘Cuse. But one of the top squads in college basketball is reportedly displaying significant interest in Fisher, according to a report.

Syracuse basketball faces stiff competition for five-star prospect Elijah Fisher.

Jason Jordan, the director of basketball recruiting for Sports Illustrated, said in a tweet that Kentucky is “picking up its interest” in Fisher.

I know what you’re going to say. The Wildcats were pretty awful a season ago. That’s true. But over the past decade, Kentucky is one of the premier teams in the sport, both for its regular-season success and its accomplishments in the Big Dance.

Plus, the Wildcats are a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail, led by their head coach, John Calipari. Any time that Kentucky is in the mix for a Syracuse basketball target, I get worried.

It’s not a surprise that the Wildcats would get into the recruiting fray for Fisher, who is a top-10 overall player in the 2023 class, according to recruiting Web sites that include Canadian prospects in their national ratings.

Universally deemed a five-star player, the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports place Fisher as the No. 4 prospect in 2023, along with the No. 1 shooting guard.

When Rivals.com recently updated its national rankings for the 2023 cycle, Fisher fell a couple of spots, to No. 7 overall. By the way, Fisher has said more than once that he believes he’s the No. 1 player in his class.

One of Fisher’s more recent offers is from Baylor, which won the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Other offers have come from squads such as Kansas, Florida State, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Memphis, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Southern California.

In mid-June, college coaches could begin making direct contact with 2023 high-school players, which means that I think the offer list for Fisher is going to greatly expand in the near future.