Syracuse basketball has shown interest in 2024’s No. 1 national prospect

We’ve detailed how Syracuse basketball could end up pursuing the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 and 2024 classes, and new national rankings from a primary recruiting service provide a glimpse into that assertion.

ESPN recently published its ratings of the top-25 prospects within the 2024 class, and Derik Queen out of Baltimore sits at the top. The 6-foot-8 power forward is a freshman at the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore and runs on the AAU circuit with the Baltimore-based Team Thrill.

Numerous media reports in the past have indicated that the Orange has expressed interest in Queen, although I haven’t seen a formal scholarship offer get doled out by the ‘Cuse coaching staff to him.

In these new 2024 rankings from ESPN, the five-star Queen is No. 1 overall, No. 1 at power forward and No. 1 in Maryland. When other recruiting services come out with their own national ratings for this class, I imagine that Queen will arrive at No. 1, or at a minimum within the top five.

Syracuse basketball has inquired about elite 2024 player Derik Queen.

National recruiting analysts and others rave about Queen’s skill-set and potential at the collegiate level, including his polished mid-range game that has drawn comparisons to former Orange legend Carmelo Anthony.

In reviewing Queen’s bio on various recruiting Web sites, he seems to currently hold around a half-dozen scholarship offers, from Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Maryland, LSU, Arizona State and DePaul.

Naturally, as he progresses in high school and in AAU events, the number of big-time offers for Queen is going to soar. I’d expect blue-blood squads like Kentucky to enter the recruiting fray for him.

As a freshman for the Saint Frances Academy, Queen put forth a monster campaign, with MaxPreps naming him the National Freshman of the Year for the 2020-21 term.

So Syracuse basketball has interest in Queen, the No. 1 prospect in 2024. Switching gears to the 2023 cycle, the ‘Cuse has offered five-star Canadian wing Elijah Fisher, a sophomore at the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario.

Fisher, who recently secured an offer from Kentucky, is deemed a top-five overall prospect in his class, according to numerous recruiting services. He could contend for the No. 1 ranking in the 2023 cycle, analysts say.

Speaking of the No. 1 prospect in 2023, Syracuse basketball has reached out to five-star point guard D.J. Wagner, who presently holds that title in this class. Wagner is a sophomore at Camden High School in Camden, N.J.