As is the case with numerous other high-school prospects, Syracuse basketball got in early on with 2023 four-star wing Matas Buzelis, and now his recruitment is blowing up.
I have to credit the Orange coaching staff for seeing the potential of these high-school players in their freshman and sophomore years, as they then emerge into four- and five-star prospects ranked in the top 25 or top 50 of their respective cycles.
The 6-foot-8 Buzelis, who can suit up at point guard, shooting guard and forward, has finished his sophomore season at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H.
A native of the Chicago metropolitan region, he suits up on the AAU circuit for the Chicago-based Mac Irvin Fire. Buzelis and his AAU team recently had been playing at the 2021 Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C., providing the ‘Cuse target with even greater exposure.
Not that Buzelis needs it. In mid-June, college coaches could begin contacting 2023 players directly, and the scholarship-offer list for Buzelis continues to grow.
Let’s review the recruitment and rankings of Syracuse basketball prospect Matas Buzelis.
Some of the latest offers for Buzelis include from Purdue out of the Big Ten Conference and Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference, according to a recent tweet by college basketball insider Adam Zagoria. Buzelis also landed an offer from Arizona, per Joe Tipton.
Purdue and Oklahoma are the latest to offer 6-foot-10 Class of 2023 @BuzelisMatas of @BrewsterHoops and Mac Irvin Fire https://t.co/aMqUSBYCoj
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) July 8, 2021
All of those teams are really good, and Purdue might prove a pre-season top-five unit heading into the upcoming campaign. Other recent offers to Buzelis are from squads such as 2021 Final Four participant UCLA, Maryland, Connecticut and DePaul.
Beyond the Orange, other earlier offers for him are from teams like Kansas, Illinois, Florida, Providence, Wake Forest, Nebraska and Western Illinois.
Additionally, media reports and comments from national analysts suggest that Buzelis has received interest from, among others, Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, 2021 NCAA Tournament runner-up Gonzaga, Iowa, Seton Hall, Marquette and Arizona. Those are hefty names.
I’ve opined in multiple articles on Buzelis in recent months that I think he’s headed for five-star status and a top-25 overall ranking within the 2023 cycle.
Well, for once, I was right! When it recently updated its national ratings for this class, ESPN placed Buzelis at No. 23 across the country, as well as the No. 5 power forward.
In its update, Rivals.com put Buzelis at No. 42, while 247Sports currently has him at No. 46, although I imagine that will improve at some point.
Finally, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite arranges Buzelis at No. 33 overall. This Syracuse basketball prospect has seen his stock skyrocket, and competition will only keep on getting more intense.