Syracuse Basketball: 5-star Zion Cruz joins Kanye West new prep power

Five-star combo guard Zion Cruz, an elite 2022 prospect who holds a Syracuse basketball offer, is reportedly headed to the west coast for his senior year of high school.

According to multiple reports, including one from college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, the 6-foot-5 Cruz is among several stellar high-school players to have signed on lately to join a new prep school from famed musician and fashion designer Kanye West.

In his junior season, Cruz suited up at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., but he’ll apparently wrap up his prep-school career at West’s Donda Academy in Simi Valley, Calif., which is about 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

Cruz, ranked in the top-20 across the country in his class according to some recruiting services, recently reopened his recruitment back up after previously having a final three of North Carolina, Auburn and Creighton.

Zion Cruz, who has a Syracuse basketball offer, has a new home for his senior term.

Per Zagoria’s article, others who have decided to join the Donda Academy include 2023 five-star point guard Robert Dillingham.

The 6-foot-1 Dillingham, a top-10 prospect in his cycle according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, most recently competed for the Combine Academy in Lincolnton, N.C., which is a Charlotte suburb.

In the past, I have seen a few reports that suggested Orange coaches may have expressed interest in Dillingham, but I haven’t seen any formal scholarship offer by the ‘Cuse to Dillingham at this juncture.

As far as Cruz is concerned, he received an offer more than two years ago from Syracuse basketball. According to Zagoria, Cruz is slated to take an official visit to Memphis on October 13.

The Tigers, a juggernaut in the recruiting world these days, recently offered Cruz and are receiving a lot of buzz for him from some national analysts and recruiting insiders.

For several months, Auburn appeared to be the rumored favorite for Cruz, but I’m getting the sense that Memphis may have overtaken Auburn as the front-runner to land the consensus top-60 player.

Over the years, West has certainly excelled as a musician, producer, fashion icon and businessman, among other areas. Now he’s looking to make his mark in prep-school basketball, and Cruz is one of his early commits.