Syracuse Basketball: Prep power with 4-star Chance Westry stacks roster
By Neil Adler
A top-flight 2024 wing who has said in the past that Syracuse basketball is one of his favorite teams will join the loaded line-up at a prep-school powerhouse in Arizona.
That prep school, Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Ariz., has a roster that also includes long-time Orange 2022 target Chance Westry, a four-star guard, as well as former ‘Cuse 2022 commit Kamari Lands, a four-star wing who re-opened his recruiting process back up last month.
Wow. No wonder that some national pundits believe Hillcrest Prep is a pre-season top-20 team around the country heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
One of the more recent additions to Hillcrest Prep is Jason Asemota, a 6-foot-8 shooting guard/small forward in the 2024 class. Asemota recently said on Twitter that he was moving on to Hillcrest Prep.
In June, we penned a column on the talented Asemota, who suited up in his freshman term for the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. We noted in that piece that Asemota has said one of his favorite schools is the Orange, according to a story from ZAGSBLOG.com national analyst Jacob Polacheck.
Syracuse basketball has several connections to Hillcrest Prep.
To date, I haven’t seen a scholarship offer doled out by the ‘Cuse coaching staff to Asemota, but I remain hopeful this will occur at some point.
Per his Twitter account and recruiting services, Asemota holds early offers from Arizona State, UMass and Stony Brook. Other high-majors that have reportedly shown interest in him include Connecticut, Kentucky, Oregon and Baylor, which won the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
ESPN recently released its updated top-25 prospects within the 2024 class. Asemota didn’t make the cut, for now. Based on comments that I’ve read about him in recent months from national analysts and recruiting insiders, he does appear to be a top-25 to a top-50 prospect in the 2024 cycle.
So the Hillcrest Prep roster has on it Asemota, Westry and Lands. There is also 2022 prospect Duke Brennan, who is a top-25 center in this class. At one point, there was chatter online about Syracuse basketball possibly showing interest in Brennan.
Interestingly enough, Brennan has verbally committed to Arizona State. Asemota has an offer from Arizona State. And Lands recently disclosed on Twitter that he has picked up new offers from teams such as Arizona State, Kansas and Georgia.
Oh, and Westry recently unveiled on social media a top 10 that includes the Orange and, you guessed it, Arizona State. That being said, Westry is getting a lot of buzz in the direction of LSU.