Syracuse Basketball: Mike Hopkins could be biggest threat for 4-star wing

Syracuse basketball high-priority target Chris Bunch, a 2022 four-star wing, received a scholarship offer about a month ago from Washington, whose head coach is former long-time Orange assistant Mike Hopkins.

Sure, the Huskies struggled on the court a season ago, however, Hopkins is an elite recruiter. He proved that on the Hill for many years, and Hopkins has secured multiple four-star and five-star players during his tenure with Washington.

As it pertains to the 6-foot-7 Bunch, he reportedly was on an official visit to the Huskies this past weekend, according to a tweet from 247Sports national analyst Brandon Jenkins.

Bunch, a consensus top-100 prospect across the country in the 2022 recruiting cycle, has already taken official visits to the ‘Cuse and to Rutgers. Now we can add in Washington, too.

Syracuse basketball looks like a top contender for four-star Chris Bunch.

The buzz on social media and in chat rooms has been that perhaps Rutgers would be the biggest threat to the Orange winning out for Bunch. However, I’m getting a feeling that Washington may prove the biggest competition for Syracuse basketball.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, nor am I in Bunch’s inner circle. However, I do think that the Orange is one of the front-runners, if not the front-runner, for him.

In total, Bunch boasts more than 20 offers from a range of high-majors. Other programs that have recently offered him include Alabama, Illinois, Minnesota, Arkansas and Ole Miss, among others.

But Bunch’s offer sheet is vast, with others such as Florida State, Southern California, San Diego State, Seton Hall, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Maryland, Creighton, Iowa State, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Massachusetts.

For me, I could see Bunch’s recruitment coming down to Syracuse basketball and the Huskies, but we’ll have to wait and see how things play out.

A versatile high-school prospect, Bunch can reportedly suit up at both guard positions, as well as small forward. He is a senior at the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, after transferring there from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif.

In the recently updated 2022 national rankings from 247Sports, Bunch is No. 58 overall, followed by No. 81 at Rivals.com and No. 97 at ESPN.

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite rates him as the No. 72 prospect nationally in this cycle.