Syracuse Basketball: Blue-blood Kentucky showing interest in 5-star target

John Calipari and his Kentucky program have crushed things on the recruiting trail of late, and now the Wildcats are reportedly displaying interest in a Syracuse basketball five-star target.

A tweet from The Miller Report, a sports-media entity and scouting service, said that Calipari recently made a visit to see 2023 small forward Justin Edwards from Philadelphia.

The 6-foot-7 Edwards, ranked in the top-20 nationally according to several recruiting services, received a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff in mid-July.

He has a bunch of other high-major offers, but whenever Kentucky gets involved, that makes it even more challenging for the ‘Cuse to win out for a top-flight prospect.

As we noted in a column not too long ago, Edwards also recently picked up a new offer from Ohio State. According to recruiting services and media reports, his other offers include from squads such as 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.

Syracuse basketball faces intense competition for five-star Justin Edwards.

I’m sure that when some of my fellow Orange fans read this article, they’ll assume that with Kentucky in the mix, Syracuse basketball has virtually no shot to land Edwards. I get it.

Of late, Calipari & Co. have received verbal commitments from multiple five-star players in the 2022 cycle. Plus, Syracuse basketball has offers out to several other 2023 players whom Kentucky is also targeting.

Those 2023 prospects include five-stars D.J. Wagner and Elijah Fisher. Wagner, a 6-foot-3 point guard, is the No. 1 junior across the country. He only recently acquired an offer from the Orange, and Wagner attends Camden High School in Camden, N.J.

His father suited up for Calipari at Memphis, and multiple national analysts have projected Wagner to the Wildcats.

The 6-foot-7 Fisher is an elite wing from Canada who got offered by Syracuse basketball in the summer of 2020. A junior at the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario, he is a consensus top-15 prospect in the 2023 class and holds numerous offers, including from Kentucky and Kansas.

At this juncture, based on some recent media reports I’ve read, my sense is that other schools besides the ‘Cuse are being more heavily linked to Fisher.

As it pertains to Fisher, Wagner and Edwards, Kentucky could certainly emerge as a front-runner for any or all of them. But each 2023 player has many other offers, too.

Edwards, rated as high as No. 8 overall in the 2023 cycle by Rivals.com, is a junior at the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia. We’ll continue to monitor his recruiting process.