Syracuse Basketball: J.J. Starling No. 1 star at prestigious Wootten camp

Syracuse basketball 2022 high-priority target J.J. Starling recently participated in the Wootten Top 150 event, and one national recruiting analyst was raving about Starling’s performance.

The 6-foot-4 Starling is a four-star combo guard and a consensus top-40 prospect across the country within his cycle. The Central New York native, a senior at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., has the Orange among his five finalists, along with Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Stanford.

Starling recently took a second official visit to the Hill. He also has made several other trips of late, including to the Blue Devils. In recent interviews, Starling has said that he’s likely to make a commitment announcement sometime in October.

Throughout his recruiting process, Starling, his family and others in his inner circle have kept things pretty close to the vest, so it’s difficult to gauge which contender might prove the favorite to land him.

Syracuse basketball four-star target J.J. Starling shined at a recent event.

The rumblings that I’ve heard about Starling from recruiting insiders suggest that the ‘Cuse is firmly in contention for the elite 2022 guard.

Duke is also a formidable adversary, although the Blue Devils did recently pick up verbal commitments from a 2022 four-star shooting guard and a 2023 five-star point guard.

The buzz is that both Notre Dame and Stanford could be significant threats to the Orange at this juncture. We’ll just have to wait and see how everything pans out.

Starling suited up at the Wootten Top 150 camp, which was held October 2 and October 3 in Mansfield, Texas. Per the event’s Web site, this was an invite-only showcase where 2022, 2023 and 2024 prospects competed.

On day one of the Wootten Top 150 camp, Starling was the clear-cut MVP, according to an article by 247Sports national analyst Brandon Jenkins.

"Jenkins said in part about Starling’s performance, “It seemed as if the four-star guard did not miss on any shot attempts during the day. His pullup game was certainly efficient and official. Additionally, he was unstoppable off the bounce when he had defenders on his hip.”"

The 247Sports national analyst added that Starling’s “ability to pour in buckets from three-levels is translatable and certainly fun to watch.”

After big man Peter Carey gave a verbal commitment to the ‘Cuse not too long ago, the Orange’s 2022 class stood at three players. Starling, if he committed to Syracuse basketball, would be the highest-ranked recruit for the team in this cycle.