Syracuse basketball will get visit from fast-rising big with tons of upside

We recently published a piece detailing that Syracuse basketball is showing interest in 2023 power forward Papa Kante, an under-rated yet extremely talented player in his class.

The 6-foot-10 Kante is a sophomore at the South Kent School in South Kent, Conn., where former Orange players Elijah Hughes and Matthew Moyer also played.

Additionally, Kante runs on the AAU circuit with the Boston-based Expressions Elite Basketball, where one of his teammates is Syracuse basketball 2023 four-star target Gavin Griffiths, a 6-foot-7 wing who is one of the hottest prospects in his class.

Both Griffiths and Kante recently competed at Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League, which culminated with the 2021 Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C.

I’ve read numerous comments from national analysts and other recruiting insiders that speak to Kante and Griffiths playing quite well in the Elite Youth Basketball League.

Griffiths is already a top-100 prospect within the 2023 cycle, and it appears that the stock of Kante is totally soaring at this juncture as well.

Syracuse basketball is interested in a highly skilled 2023 big man.

According to recruiting services, media reports and Kante’s Twitter page, he currently holds scholarship offers from teams such as Pittsburgh, Georgia, Rutgers, TCU, UMass, East Carolina, Bryant and Siena.

Some additional big-time programs are showing interest in Kante, per a recent article by Jacob Polacheck, a national analyst for ZAGSBLOG.com.

Those squads include Mike Hopkins-led Washington, Kansas, Virginia, Miami, Connecticut, Ohio State, Tennessee, Arizona and Marquette, Kante told Polacheck.

According to the ZAGSBLOG.com piece, Kante will go on an unofficial visit to the Hill for an elite camp on Aug. 28.

Kante says that Syracuse basketball associate head coach Adrian Autry is the main recruiter for him at this juncture, and Autry has watched a lot of Kante’s games this past spring and over the summer.

"Ken Jackson, a coach with Expressions Elite Basketball, had this to say about Kante in the ZAGSBLOG.com story. “His upside is sky high. His jump shot, his motor, feel fit the game – he works very hard and I’m impressed by the way he’s able to adapt.”"

We’ll obviously continue to monitor any and all involvement that the Orange coaching staff has with Kante, who is a star in the making within the 2023 class.