Syracuse Basketball: Recruiting titan in strong shape with 5-star Zion Cruz

Five-star combo guard Zion Cruz, an elite 2022 prospect who holds a Syracuse basketball offer and will play his senior year of high-school ball on the west coast, is planning to build a great relationship with the head coach of a recruiting juggernaut, he said in a recent interview.

The 6-foot-5 Cruz, who not too long ago decided to reopen his recruitment back up, recently took an official visit to recruiting powerhouse Memphis, and by all accounts that trip went well, according to media reports.

I’ve said a couple of times of late that I think Cruz picking Memphis is a distinct possibility, and he had a lot of positive things to say about the Tigers in a recent interview with college basketball insider Adam Zagoria.

The head coach of Memphis is former NBA star Penny Hardaway, who by the way has absolutely crushed things on the recruiting trail in recent months.

Zion Cruz, who has a Syracuse basketball offer, continues to go through his recruiting process.

Cruz, a consensus top-60 prospect who is ranked in the top 20 of the 2022 cycle according to some recruiting services, was down to a final three of North Carolina, Creighton and Auburn. But he delayed his commitment announcement and, a few days later, reopened his recruitment.

Zagoria’s piece says that DePaul and Georgia continue to recruit him, but for my money, I believe that Memphis has to be considered the front-runner for Cruz.

To that end, several national analysts and recruiting insiders on the 247Sports Web site and Rivals.com have recently logged predictions in the direction of Memphis for Cruz.

Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Cruz more than two years ago, but I never got the sense that there was much buzz between him and the ‘Cuse.

When Cruz reopened his recruiting process, I had a small amount of hope that maybe Syracuse basketball coaches would pursue him, but that doesn’t seem to have occurred.

As a junior, Cruz performed quite well for The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J. However, according to Zagoria and others, Cruz has transferred for his senior season to the Donda Academy in Simi Valley, Calif.

This new prep school, about 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, is from famed musician and fashion designer Kanye West. It’s a bummer that the Orange didn’t emerge as a significant contender for Cruz, although I am confident that he will shine at Memphis or whatever college team he selects.