Syracuse Basketball: ESPN spurns 2022 4-star commits in new rankings

Call me biased or a Syracuse basketball homer. It’s totally fine.

Even though I always readily admit that I’m not a recruiting analyst, in my book, Orange 2022 four-star commits Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland are both top-100 prospects across the county in this cycle.

Unfortunately, though, the folks over at ESPN don’t seem to agree with me, at least for the time being. ESPN recently updated its national ratings of the top-100 prospects within the 2022 class. Taylor and Copeland are nowhere to be found, and that’s a shame.

Recruiting rankings are good for context in my articles. I fully acknowledge that. But I often will preface such columns by saying that these recruiting ratings are subjective, and they don’t tell the entire story every single time.

Case in point is these two Syracuse basketball 2022 commits. As it pertains to the 6-foot-6 Taylor, a wing, and the 6-foot-6 Copeland, a point guard, I strongly believe that you will not find 100 better high-school players nationwide than them.

Syracuse basketball commits Justin Taylor and Quadir Copeland are ranked elsewhere.

Taylor gave his verbal pledge to the ‘Cuse in late June. Copeland followed suit with his own verbal commitment to the Orange last month.

Both Taylor and Copeland, who are good friends, will suit up during their senior seasons for the post-grad team at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Copeland has transferred to the IMG Academy from the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., while Taylor previously played at the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.

For comparison’s sake on these national rankings, Rivals.com recently updated its own 2022 ratings. This recruiting service has Taylor at No. 65 overall, with Copeland placed at No. 86.

At the time of this writing, on September 1, 247Sports had Taylor at No. 61 nationally. The industry-generated 247Sports Composite, which frequently fluctuates, had Taylor at No. 63 and Copeland at No. 148.

I’ve opined of late that Syracuse basketball is seeing a lot of positive momentum with its recruiting. I’m sure some Orange fans would want to chime in here and say, well, the team’s two 2022 commits aren’t even top-100 players.

That’s fair, although in some respects and according to some recruiting services, Copeland and Taylor are, in fact, top-100 prospects.

Plus, each has a sizable opportunity to perform well at the IMG Academy this coming season, which absolutely could lead to a rankings bump down the road.