Syracuse Basketball: Newly offered big man is an elite rim protector

Syracuse basketball coaches doled out numerous scholarship offers to 2023 and 2024 high-school prospects at their recently held Elite Camp.

Some of those offers went to players who are highly ranked in their recruiting cycles. Others, though, possess a ton of talent, but so far they’re under-rated on a national scale.

Case in point, the ‘Cuse has offered 2023 big man Joseph Estrella, whom I’m not seeing listed on many recruiting Web sites. That leads me to believe that he isn’t nationally rated for the time being.

However, if Syracuse basketball coaches have offered the 6-foot-10 power forward, then he certainly must boast an impressive skill-set.

As a member of the 2023 class, Estrella is heading into his junior campaign. According to his Twitter page, he attends South Portland High School in South Portland, Maine, and he runs on the grassroots basketball circuit with Middlesex Magic, which is one of the premier AAU squads in the New England region.

Syracuse basketball is getting involved early on with 2023 big man Joseph Estrella.

Since Estrella doesn’t appear to have a bio on various recruiting Web sites, at least for now, it’s unclear to me if he has offers from groups besides the ‘Cuse. We’ll of course continue to monitor his recruitment moving forward.

Orange coaches, as I’ve written about on numerous occasions of late, do an excellent job of finding hidden gems in recruiting cycles. What I mean by that is the Syracuse basketball coaching staff often will offer a high-school prospect who isn’t nationally ranked, and then that player will eventually blow up, evolving into a four-star, top-100 prospect, if not higher.

I believe this will transpire with Estrella. From what I’ve read about him online, he is an athletic and long big man who blends stellar offensive skills, including a strong shooting stroke, with terrific defensive instincts.

Estrella alters and blocks shots, and he rebounds quite well. These are all traits that would make him a perfect fit for the Orange system, especially the team’s trademark 2-3 zone.

In addition to the offer given to Estrella, Syracuse basketball coaches recently offered 2023 five-star point guard D.J. Wagner, the No. 1 rising junior across the country, as well as 2023 four-star guard Reid Ducharme and 2023 three-star big man Papa Kante.