Syracuse basketball and Connecticut don’t suit up in the same conference these days, however, they still play on the court from time to time and often battle it out on the recruiting trail.
Not too long ago, 2022 four-star center Donovan Clingan committed to the Huskies over the Orange and other finalists. That got me thinking as to how many other occasions in recent years UConn prevailed against Syracuse basketball in the recruiting arena.
I reviewed information on the 247Sports Web site dating back to the 2010 recruiting cycle to see which high-school prospects who committed to Connecticut also possessed scholarship offers from the ‘Cuse. Besides Clingan, there are a few.
Let’s review some other Syracuse basketball recruiting misses versus Connecticut.
About a year ago, 2021 four-star big man Samson Johnson pledged his services to UConn. Johnson, a top-60 prospect according to 247Sports, held an offer from the Orange.
Syracuse basketball coaches prioritized 2020 four-star wing Andre Jackson, a top-60 player, for quite a long duration, and at one point some national analysts deemed the Orange as the front-runner for the native of Amsterdam, N.Y.
But Jackson ended up picking the Huskies over the ‘Cuse and other finalists such as Iowa, Maryland and UCLA.
A year earlier, in the 2019 class, five-star power forward Akok Akok opted for Connecticut rather than Syracuse basketball and other suitors.
Alterique Gilbert was a four-star point guard in the 2016 recruiting cycle. He held a scholarship offer from the Orange but ended up heading to UConn.
Looking at the remainder of the 2022 class and the 2023 cycle, multiple high-school prospects have offers from both Syracuse basketball and Connecticut.
In 2022, these players include four-star guard Chance Westry and four-star wing Yann Farrell. Westry has taken an official visit to the Hill, although some of the recent chatter and speculation is that the Orange isn’t likely to land him.
Farrell’s recruitment has seemed to fly under the radar a bit, but he’s an excellent player in the 2022 class.
In 2023, meanwhile, the ‘Cuse coaching staff recently offered four-star forward Justin Edwards and five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher.
Both of these relatively new Syracuse basketball targets also have offers from the Huskies.