Syracuse basketball recruiting triumphs over UConn in recent years

Syracuse basketball is in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Connecticut resides in the Big East Conference, but these long-time rivals have gone toe to toe over high-level recruits on numerous occasions in recent cycles.

Given the relative geographic proximity that each school has to one another, it’s no surprise that high-school prospects often receive scholarship offers from the Orange and the Huskies.

I took a look at every recruiting class dating back to the 2010 cycle, using information from 247Sports, to see in which instances Syracuse basketball has secured a high-school player who had also landed a UConn offer during his recruiting process.

Interestingly enough, the ‘Cuse has done fairly well in this regard versus Connecticut, although each school has won out multiple times in recent terms.

Let’s take a look at Syracuse basketball recruiting victories against UConn.

Kadary Richmond, a 2020 four-star combo guard, picked the Orange over Connecticut and others. A top-100 prospect in high school, Richmond played his freshman year on the Hill but has since transferred to Seton Hall.

Current Syracuse basketball big man John Bol Ajak had an offer from the Huskies before selecting Syracuse basketball. He was a three-star prospect in the 2019 class.

Jalen Carey, a 2018 four-star guard, was down to a pair of finalists in the Orange and UConn. He picked the ‘Cuse but now competes for Rhode Island.

Center Bourama Sidibe is about to enter his fifth year in Central New York. He was a four-star prospect in the 2017 cycle and held an offer from the Huskies.

In the 2016 class, both four-star power forward Taurean Thompson and four-star shooting guard Tyus Battle picked Syracuse basketball but also had offers from UConn. Thompson would then transfer to Seton Hall and Detroit.

A season earlier, in the 2015 cycle, four-star guard Frank Howard and four-star wing Malachi Richardson would play as freshmen for the ‘Cuse during the team’s run to the Final Four. Howard and Richardson were also Connecticut targets.

Five-star power forward Chris McCullough and four-star point guard Kaleb Joseph, both in the 2014 class, headed to Syracuse basketball and had UConn offers. Joseph would later transfer to Creighton.

Finally, DaJuan Coleman, a 2012 five-star center, and the late Fab Melo, a 2010 five-star center, each went to the ‘Cuse and had an offer from the Huskies.