Syracuse Basketball: 2022 rankings take big tumble after 4-star de-commit

For many, many months, I’ve opined that I believe Syracuse basketball will end up with an excellent 2022 recruiting class. That still may hold true, but for now, the Orange’s 2022 cycle has fallen off a bit in the national landscape.

Following the unfortunate news not too long ago that 2022 four-star wing Kamari Lands would re-open his recruiting process back up, thereby going back on his verbal commitment to the ‘Cuse, the team has two four-star pledges in this cycle, point guard Quadir Copeland and wing Justin Taylor.

Plus, as we’ve discussed on numerous occasions, Syracuse basketball continues to pursue multiple high-level prospects in the 2022 cycle, and I remain hopeful that the Orange will land another two to three high-school players for this class.

Before I get into the latest national rankings for the ‘Cuse 2022 cycle, I’ll preface by saying that these ratings shouldn’t mean everything in the world to all us Orange hoops fanatics out there.

Syracuse basketball coaches recruit to their system, not solely based on rankings from recruiting services. Do I want Syracuse basketball to pick up five-star, top-20 prospects, year after year?

Of course, I do. But it’s also about the best fit for the player and the program, and those elite prospects usually leave after just one season in college.

Where Syracuse basketball stands in the 2022 class ratings.

A few weeks ago, before Lands de-committed from the Orange, the squad’s 2022 cycle was ranked No. 7 overall and No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to the 247Sports Web site.

Fast-forward to the present, and as of September 2, when I penned this column, Syracuse basketball checked in at No. 19 nationally and No. 4 within the ACC, per the 247Sports Web site. Ohio State, by the way, was No. 1 overall.

Over at Rivals.com, the Orange’s 2022 class was situated at No. 15 nationwide as of September 2, with Kansas the No. 1 group. It makes sense that the ‘Cuse has a better rating on Rivals.com, because for a while now Copeland has been ranked higher on Rivals.com than on the 247Sports Web site.

Take these 2022 class rankings with a grain of salt, my friends. Syracuse basketball still has two four-star, top-100 prospects verbally committed to the team.

And, if a couple of additional 2022 players pledge their services to the Orange, then the ‘Cuse could be looking at a top-15 class in this cycle. It just may not be in the top 10.