Syracuse Basketball: Two priority targets who remain in 2022 are pivotal

Syracuse basketball did not win the recruiting sweepstakes over Central New York native J.J. Starling, the 2022 four-star combo guard who picked Notre Dame over the Orange and several other finalists.

Understandably, many ‘Cuse fans are quite disappointed in this development, and I am, too. Starling’s decision is the latest in a string of recruiting misses for the Orange, whether it be four-star wing Kamari Lands, five-star point guard Dior Johnson or a couple of elite big men in this cycle, among others.

So, yes, the ‘Cuse isn’t likely to land a top-10 overall class in 2022. Stuff happens. However, Syracuse basketball could still capture a 2022 cycle rated in the top-20 nationally, in my opinion.

Syracuse basketball has two priority targets left on the board in the 2022 class.

At this juncture, it seems that the two remaining prospects that the Orange coaching staff is pursuing in the 2022 cycle are four-star wing Chris Bunch, who has the ‘Cuse in his top three, and three-star power forward Maliq Brown, who has Syracuse basketball in his top five.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, but the chatter I hear is that the Orange is in really strong shape with both Bunch and Brown. A senior at the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va., Brown is set to announce this Saturday, and his top five are Syracuse basketball, Georgetown, Penn State, N.C. State and Virginia Tech.

Brown, a top-30 power forward per Rivals.com, is good friends with Orange 2022 commit Justin Taylor. Brown took an official visit to the Hill not too long ago, and I believe that his only other recent trip was an unofficial visit to Virginia Tech.

Bunch, who hails from the west coast and is rated as a top-60 prospect according to 247Sports, has a top three of Syracuse basketball, Mike Hopkins-led Washington and Rutgers.

A senior at the powerhouse Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Bunch took official visits to all three schools, although he went on two official visits to the ‘Cuse.

He is reportedly going to make his college decision known this Halloween, on October 31. I think that Washington is a big threat here, given that Hopkins is an excellent recruiter, and also due to Bunch being from the west coast.

Let’s assume that both Bunch and Brown choose the Orange. That would give the ‘Cuse five verbal commits in its 2022 class, and they would be four-star point guard Quadir Copeland, four-star shooting guard Taylor, wing/small forward Bunch, power forward Brown and talented power forward/center Peter Carey.

In this scenario, Syracuse basketball would have a 2022 commit at every position. Copeland is top 90. Taylor is top 65. Bunch is top 60. Carey is unranked, in part possibly because his prep-school team didn’t play its most recent season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but he could enter the top 100. Brown, if he plays well as a senior, could enter the top 100 to top 150.

That’s potentially all five commits being four stars and in the top 100. Not top-10 overall material, but certainly a solid class that could get into the top-20 nationwide.