Syracuse basketball already has two four-star commits in its 2022 class, and the Orange continues to pursue a handful of other high-school players in this cycle.
With 2022 four-star big man Dominick Barlow, a ‘Cuse recruiting prospect, opting to sign a deal with the Overtime Elite professional league, by my count that leaves four 2022 guys left as potential commits in this class.
Two of these targets are taking official visits to the Hill in the near future, and how those trips go could pave the way for potential commitments. At a minimum, it may provide further clarity on how the Orange’s 2022 class is ultimately going to shake out, one way or another.
As we recently noted in a column, per media reports, 2022 four-star guard J.J. Starling, a Central New York native, will take a second official visit to the ‘Cuse on September 10-12.
The consensus top-40 prospect, who is heading into his senior year at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., recently visited Notre Dame and also has visits planned for Northwestern on September 17-19, and to Duke on September 24-26.
Another Syracuse basketball 2022 prospect will soon visit the Hill.
As first reported by Mike McAllister, the publisher of SyracuseOnSI, 2022 big man Peter Carey is eyeing an official visit to the Orange during the weekend of September 24.
Carey, who can play power forward and center, recently competed in the annual ‘Cuse Elite Camp. He attends the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass.
We published a piece on Carey earlier this week, noting that with Barlow no longer an option, Carey becomes an even more critical possible piece to the Orange’s 2022 class.
These upcoming official visits by Starling and Carey are encouraging. They’re also extremely important, in my humble opinion.
As it pertains to Carey, Syracuse basketball does have several centers on its current roster, and the transfer portal is always a viable option. However, I’d love to see the Orange grab a big man in the 2022 cycle.
With Starling, his ties to the Central New York region make the ‘Cuse a logical choice for him. But he also has several other terrific suitors, including the Blue Devils, a recruiting juggernaut.
Given Starling’s skill-set and versatility to play both point guard and shooting guard, I think that he would complement the other two 2022 commits for the Orange, four-star wing Justin Taylor and four-star point guard Quadir Copeland.
The remaining 2022 prospects for the ‘Cuse are four-star guard Chance Westry and four-star wing Chris Bunch. I think that Syracuse basketball is a long-shot with Westry.
Regarding Bunch, he reportedly has a second official visit that he’s planning to Rutgers in the near future. It would prove great if he made a second trip to the Hill as well.