Syracuse basketball 4-star target lands prediction, looks like SU vs. Duke

Syracuse basketball high-priority target J.J. Starling, a Central New York native, recently took a second official visit to the Hill. By all accounts, that trip went well.

The 2022 four-star combo guard also recently included the Orange in his top five, along with Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Stanford, according to his Instagram page.

Naturally, it’s encouraging that the 6-foot-3 Starling has the ‘Cuse among his finalists, although as I’ve said for a while now, the Blue Devils are a formidable adversary in this recruiting battle.

I’ve read a handful of media reports on Starling of late in which he has said a lot of positive things about the Syracuse basketball program. The Orange coaching staff offered him more than two years ago, and he’s proven a top priority for the ‘Cuse in this cycle for a while now.

Now, a bevy of Syracuse basketball fans have opined on social media and in chat rooms lately that they believe Starling is headed to Duke. That’s fair. The Blue Devils, a blue-blood school and an Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweight, have performed exceptionally on the recruiting trail in recent months.

Syracuse basketball is in the running for four-star guard J.J. Starling.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Starling had one prediction on the 247Sports Web site in the direction of Duke. I’m sure that worries some Orange fans, however, if the Blue Devils had all the buzz for Starling, I honestly think we would see even more projections from national analysts and recruiting insiders for Duke at this juncture.

Starling, a consensus top-40 prospect in the 2022 class, has said in several recent interviews that he is eyeing a commitment announcement next month, so we’ll of course continue to monitor his recruiting process.

Already in September, Starling has traveled to Notre Dame and the ‘Cuse, with additional visits slated for Northwestern on Sept. 17-19 and Duke on Sept. 24-26, according to media reports. He also previously made a trip to Stanford.

In a recent interview with recruiting guru Joe Tipton of On3, Starling said that of all his finalists, he’s hearing the most from current players and commits affiliated with the Blue Devils. That’s not necessarily a good thing for the Orange’s chances.

"In an article published on September 9, 247Sports national basketball director Eric Bossi wrote, “From the looks of it, it sure does look to be coming down to Duke and Syracuse and I don’t think anybody would really dispute that – though Notre Dame and Stanford are among those still chasing hard.”"

My sense is that Syracuse basketball will stay in contention until the very end for Starling, who is a senior at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.