Syracuse Basketball: Big-time competition flows in for 5-star, top-10 target

Syracuse basketball only recently got into the recruiting fray for elite 2023 small forward Justin Edwards from Philadelphia, offering him a scholarship in mid-July.

The five-star, 6-foot-7 Edwards, by the way, is one of numerous top-20 prospects in this cycle whom the Orange coaching staff has offered.

Besides the ‘Cuse, other high-major offers that have arrived for Edwards include from Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, Auburn, Miami, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, VCU, South Carolina and Tennessee, according to recruiting services and media reports.

Add another impressive offer to this growing list. Edwards recently said on Twitter that he has received a scholarship offer from Ohio State.

The Buckeyes, in recent years, have proven one of the best squads in the rugged Big Ten Conference. Ohio State also does quite well on the recruiting trail.

For one, the Buckeyes last November picked up 2022 four-star shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. He had the Orange in his top six before choosing to suit up for Ohio State.

Syracuse basketball faces an uphill climb to win out for five-star Justin Edwards.

Getting back to Edwards, he is preparing for his junior year at Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, which is an excellent team. On the grassroots basketball circuit, he suits up for perhaps the best AAU team out there, the Philadelphia-based Team Final.

Edwards recently made sizable gains in updated 2023 national rankings by two of the primary recruiting services, so let’s have a look at these developments.

He has soared into the top-10 overall, according to Rivals.com. This recruiting service rates Edwards as five stars and No. 8 across the country.

Meanwhile, over at ESPN, he also boasted a huge rankings bump. Previously, ESPN had Edwards at No. 27 overall within the 2023 cycle.

When it recently refreshed these ratings, ESPN placed Edwards as five stars and No. 16 nationally. ESPN also rates him as the No. 4 small forward throughout the entire 2023 class, as well as the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania.

Syracuse basketball coaches have offered a range of top-flight players in the 2023 cycle of late, and some of my fellow Orange fanatics have chimed in that the ‘Cuse has little to no shot at landing any of these stellar high-school prospects.

We’ll have to see about that. As I always like to say, you can’t get a five-star recruit until you offer him first.