Syracuse basketball looking to go really, really big-time with 2023 class

For all the buzz surrounding the possibility of Syracuse basketball hauling in a magnetic 2022 class, for my money, the team’s 2023 cycle could prove a truly special one.

Yes, the Orange has multiple four-star commitments in 2022, and I’ve gone on record of late in saying that I think this cycle could end up in the top-20 nationally when all is said and done.

But in 2023, if the ‘Cuse manages to secure a few of its recruiting targets, watch out. Syracuse basketball has offers out there to a boatload of four-star and five-star guys in the 2023 class, and many of these prospects are ranked in the top-50 to the top-100 across the country.

In digging a bit deeper, though, it actually turns out that the Orange has offered at least seven 2023 players who are rated in the top-15 nationwide, according to one or more recruiting services. That’s big-time, if you ask me.

Let’s examine the range of stellar 2023 recruits whom Syracuse basketball has offered.

Of course, if the ‘Cuse offers all of these top-flight prospects, and none of them ultimately pick the Orange, then this is all a moot point. I recognize that.

Yet if Syracuse basketball could grab even one or two of these top-15 guys, that provides an excellent foundation and a lot of momentum for the ‘Cuse to do extremely encouraging things with its 2023 cycle.

It begins with five-star point guard D.J. Wagner from Camden High School in Camden, N.J. Wagner, offered by Syracuse basketball in August at the team’s annual Elite Camp, is rated as the No. 1 junior, per many recruiting services. Kentucky, though, has a lot of buzz with Wagner.

According to media reports, the Orange offered five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. just a few days ago. Evans, from the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., was No. 2 nationwide in this class at the time of this writing, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Syracuse basketball was the first team to offer five-star power forward G.G. Jackson, back in August of 2020. The junior at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C., is in the top-10 overall, according to Rivals.com. He has tons of Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweights, among others, vying for him.

Two other 2023 targets who recently jumped into the top-10 nationally via one recruiting service or another are five-star small forward Justin Edwards and five-star guard/wing Matas Buzelis.

The ‘Cuse offered Edwards this past summer, while the Orange got in earlier on with Buzelis, offering him nearly a year ago.

Edwards, from the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, is hearing a lot from UConn, and the word is that a Kentucky offer is likely coming soon.

Buzelis, who attends the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., has seen his stock soar of late. All of the blue-blood programs have either offered Buzelis, or are showing interest in him.

Five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher with Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J., is a consensus top-15 prospect who landed a ‘Cuse offer over the summer. He recently visited North Carolina and actually gave a verbal commitment to the Tar Heels after I wrote this piece, but before it was published. Bummer.

Another 2023 player who is universally deemed a top-15 prospect is five-star wing Elijah Fisher, who was offered by Syracuse basketball in the summer of 2020.

Fisher is out the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario. He has spoken highly of the Orange program in the past, although some more recent media reports have suggested that teams like Kentucky and Kansas could be better positioned with Fisher than the ‘Cuse.