Syracuse Basketball: Blue-blood enters the equation for 5-star target

Five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher, one of the top prospects in the 2023 class who was recently offered a scholarship by Syracuse basketball coaches, is likely to land offers from an abundance of big-time college teams, including the blue-blood programs.

Case in point, since the Orange got into the mix for the 6-foot-4 Wilcher, we’ve noted in a couple of columns that his suitors, both ones that have given him offers and are showing interest, include Memphis, Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Kansas, Connecticut, Auburn, Illinois, Duke, Kentucky, Miami and UCLA.

So right there, you have Kansas, Kentucky and Duke. UCLA, historically speaking, is a blue-blood squad, some pundits would say. Then there’s North Carolina, which like Duke is a blue-blood group, as well as an Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweight.

To that end, Wilcher recently obtained an offer from those Tar Heels, according to multiple media reports, including a tweet from college basketball insider Adam Zagoria.

So is Gonzaga going to get into the recruiting fray for Wilcher? What about Michigan State or Michigan? Perhaps Baylor, Houston or Texas?

It wouldn’t surprise me one iota if all of these teams end up offering Wilcher, or at a minimum, reach out to him to gauge his interest in their respective programs.

Syracuse basketball faces intense competition for five-star Simeon Wilcher.

Zagoria said that Wilcher is eyeing a visit to North Carolina at some point. As we noted in a recent piece, with a shout-out to Zagoria for breaking this news, Wilcher had been offered a lucrative professional deal with the Overtime Elite league, but he opted to remain in high school.

Wilcher is heading into his junior season at Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J., and he already possesses more than 20 scholarship offers. He suits up for the New York City-based NY Renaissance on the AAU circuit.

Besides the groups mentioned above, other offers have arrived for Wilcher from Texas Tech, DePaul, Georgia Tech, St. John’s, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Morgan State, Bryant, Nebraska and Xavier.

He recently competed at the Orange’s annual Elite Camp. ‘Cuse coaches offered Wilcher in mid-July, and he has said in some recent interviews that he has high interest in Syracuse basketball.

When ESPN recently updated its 2023 national rankings, Wilcher checked in at No. 12. Rivals.com, too, has refreshed its ratings for this cycle, with Wilcher at No. 15.

Some of the primary recruiting services also deem him as a top-two point guard or a top-two combo guard across the country within the 2023 class.

No wonder all of these juggernauts in collegiate hoops are vying for him. His recruiting process has a way to go. Where things stand now, I think that the Orange has a shot. Wilcher would be a game-changer for the ‘Cuse in 2023.