After 2022 four-star wing and top-25 player Kamari Lands revealed via social media on Saturday night that he was de-committing from Syracuse basketball, obviously the floodgates opened up for commentary by Orange fanatics on Facebook and Twitter.
One theme is that the ‘Cuse recruiting momentum of late has stalled. Okay. A second theme is that the Syracuse basketball program is somehow cursed when it comes to big-time prospects. I understand that mentality, too.
For me, the Orange’s recruiting efforts are still in a solid place. Yes, seeing Lands move on is a total bummer, but the ‘Cuse did recently pick up verbal commitments from 2022 four-star point guard Quadir Copeland and 2022 four-star wing Justin Taylor.
Syracuse basketball also has on its campus a promising freshman forward in 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams, who is a top-25 player in his own right. I’ll discuss in a bit other exciting things potentially in the pipeline for the Orange’s future recruiting cycles.
I would like to thank Coach Boeheim, Coach Mac and @Cuse_MBB for everything they have done. And with that being said I will be reopening my recruitment.
— Kamari Lands (@iso_marii) August 21, 2021
As far as this notion that the Orange is cursed, well, recruiting is a fickle business. On top of that, the new name, image and likeness opportunities are changing the dynamics in college basketball, not to mention the NCAA’s relatively new transfer policy that lets all student-athletes transfer once and retain immediate eligibility.
When the 6-foot-8 Lands, who has transferred to Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Ariz., for his senior year, said on Twitter in early April that he was “1000% committed,” that verbal commitment took many ‘Cuse fans, myself included, by surprise.
Despite being so highly ranked within his class, Lands at that time didn’t have a ton of scholarship offers, at least not as compared to other top-flight 2022 targets.
I’m sure professional options could end up on the table for him as well, and he said in several media reports after de-committing from Syracuse basketball that he wants to have schools recruit him with name, image and likeness factored into the equation. Totally understandable.
Lands says that the Orange remains one of his top college choices. That may be so, but something tells me that Syracuse basketball coaches likely won’t continue to recruit him. Only time will tell. He also has never taken an official visit to the Hill, and that served as a concerning point for some ‘Cuse fans.
Look, I get that now Lands, 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson and 2018 five-star forward Darius Bazley have all de-committed from Syracuse basketball in recent years, but this happens to a lot of major college squads.
Syracuse basketball is still primed for recruiting success over the next few years.
With Lands off the table, that makes it more challenging for the Orange to pull in a top-10 overall class in 2022, but the ‘Cuse does continue to pursue several excellent prospects in this cycle.
Also, I’d like to point out here that one of those remaining 2022 targets, four-star wing Chris Bunch, is actually ranked higher on a national scale by 247Sports than Lands. Just saying.
What’s more, the Orange is doling out scholarship offers to, and showing interest in, a range of four-star and five-star players in the 2023 and 2024 cycles.
It remains to be seen what kind of classes the ‘Cuse will notch in 2023 and 2024, but the team clearly has momentum working in its favor.
When all is said and done, Syracuse basketball could contend for a top-15 to a top-20 overall rating in the 2022 cycle, and that class could end up being one of the squad’s best since heading to the ACC.
So while missing out on Lands, Johnson and Bazley stings, I believe that the future is bright for the Orange’s recruiting.