Where Syracuse basketball turns next for 2022 big man after 4-star miss

Well, the national analysts and other recruiting insiders proved correct on their predictions for Syracuse basketball 2022 high-priority target Kyle Filipowski, a four-star prospect and one of the top big men throughout the country in his class.

The 6-foot-10 Filipowski had received a ton of buzz lately for making Duke his collegiate destination, according to analysts. And the junior at the Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Mass., recently disclosed on Twitter that he will, in fact, head to the Blue Devils.

This is a bummer, but hardly a surprise at all. The Blue Devils are an Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse and a blue-blood team. Once Duke offered a scholarship to Filipowski in late June, I kind of had a bad feeling about the Orange’s chances.

Throw in other recent offers for Filipowski from Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan, plus a boatload of prior offers, and it was always going to be a massive uphill climb for the ‘Cuse to win out.

Filipowski, who suits up for the New York City-based NY Renaissance on the AAU circuit, had taken an official visit to the Hill in June. And recent Orange 2022 commit Justin Taylor, a four-star wing, had tried to recruit Filipowski to Central New York.

Alas, that’s the nature of the recruiting world. With Filipowski and 2022 four-star center Donovan Clingan, who had the ‘Cuse in his top eight but committed to Connecticut not too long ago, out of the equation, the Orange coaching staff turns to other possible options at power forward and center in this cycle.

Let’s take a look at other 2022 big men potentially in the mix for Syracuse basketball.

Probably the top option, and I acknowledge this as solely my opinion, is talented and under-rated 2022 prospect Peter Carey, who recently received an offer from the ‘Cuse.

The 7-foot Carey, who can play power forward and center, is seeing his stock rise on a national scale, some analysts have said of late. Carey is a junior at the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass.

This past February, the Orange offered 2022 three-star power forward Maliq Brown, who is a junior at the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va.

The 6-foot-9 Brown is good friends with Taylor. Frankly, I haven’t heard a lot of chatter about Syracuse basketball being significantly involved in Brown’s recruitment. But with the 7-foot-1 Clingan and Filipowski both out, maybe things shift more in Brown’s direction for the ‘Cuse.

Other than that, I’ve seen some media reports in recent months that suggest possible interest by Syracuse basketball in 2022 big men Christ Essandoko and Duke Brennan.

The 7-foot Essandoko is out of the Winston Salem Christian School in Winston-Salem, N.C., and the 6-foot-10 Brennan attends Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Ariz.