Syracuse Basketball: Duke gets 5-star; could it boost SU with J.J. Starling?

Some of the chatter from national analysts and recruiting insiders is that the recruiting process of 2022 four-star combo guard J.J. Starling, a consensus top-40 prospect, could end up coming down to Syracuse basketball versus Duke.

In all fairness, the 6-foot-3 Starling does have three other teams in his top five, and they are Northwestern, Notre Dame and Stanford. From what I’ve read about Starling, academics are important to him, and those are three elite academic institutions.

However, Starling is from Central New York, so the Orange being a potential front-runner could make sense. Plus, the Blue Devils are, well, the Blue Devils. Duke continues to recruit at a level perhaps only matched by Kentucky these days.

To that end, as we noted in a recent column, the Blue Devils picked up a verbal commitment from 2022 four-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt not too long ago. Schutt, a top-60 player, attends Yorkville Christian High School in Yorkville, Ill.

Even more recently, Duke got its first pledge in the 2023 cycle, as five-star point guard Caleb Foster gave an early verbal commitment to the Blue Devils.

Foster, who suits up for the powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., is rated No. 12 overall and No. 3 at point guard in his class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Duke is likely the biggest competition for Syracuse basketball to land J.J. Starling.

Depending on the recruiting Web site, and the team recruiting him, Starling is deemed either a point guard or a combo guard. I believe that the ‘Cuse is recruiting him to play point guard and shooting guard.

Now, if the likelihood is that Starling will prove a one-and-done player at the collegiate level, then the Blue Devils getting a stellar 2023 point guard may not really matter. But if Starling is more likely to stick around in college for at least two seasons, might Foster’s commitment to Duke impact Starling’s ultimate decision?

We’ll have to wait and see. In Schutt, the Blue Devils have an excellent 2022 shooting guard. Could the combination of Schutt and Foster heading to Duke influence Starling’s decision?

Again, that is not clear, at least to me. The Blue Devils did obtain at least one prediction for Starling on the 247Sports Web site lately. He’s reportedly scheduled to take an official visit to Duke from September 24 to September 26.

We’ll of course continue to monitor any and all of the latest developments in Starling’s recruiting process.