Syracuse Basketball: 2 tough de-commits couldn’t stop stellar 2022 class

For those Syracuse basketball fans out there who continue to think that the Orange coaching staff can’t recruit with the best of them around the country, well, I present to you a tremendous five-member 2022 class for the ‘Cuse.

Roughly a year ago, 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson reneged on his verbal commitment to the Orange. Kamari Lands, a 2022 four-star wing, did the same thing a few months back.

No worries. In 2022, the ‘Cuse still is in line for a top-10 to a top-15 class nationwide. I give a tremendous amount of credit to Syracuse basketball coaches for hauling in a really strong 2022 cycle.

The fifth member to pledge his services to the Orange in the 2022 class, four-star wing Chris Bunch, did so on Thursday evening, announcing his verbal commitment to Syracuse basketball after having a final three of the ‘Cuse, Mike Hopkins-led Washington and Rutgers.

Syracuse basketball has hauled in a top-flight 2022 cycle.

After Lands de-committed from the Orange this past August, a lot of ‘Cuse fans were understandably frustrated with how the team’s 2022 class was shaping up.

When Johnson gave a verbal commitment to the Orange in February of 2020, there was so much buzz about him bringing other elite 2022 prospects with him to the Hill.

But Johnson backed out, Lands backed out, and Syracuse basketball also missed on multiple other four-star and five-star 2022 targets of late. The prospects of a highly regarded 2022 cycle didn’t look so hot.

Yet here we are. Bunch, a top-20 small forward and a top-60 overall player according to 247Sports, is on board. He is a senior at the powerhouse Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.

Earlier this month, three-star power forward Maliq Brown picked Syracuse basketball over four other finalists, which were Georgetown, Penn State, Virginia Tech and N.C. State. Brown, a senior at the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va., is in the top 30 at his position.

In late September, the Orange got a verbal pledge from power forward/center Peter Carey, who is a senior at the Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass. The three-star Carey is the No. 5 prospect in Massachusetts, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Four-star wing Justin Taylor, a senior at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., committed in late June. He is a top-20 shooting guard and a top-65 overall player in this cycle.

Taylor’s good friend and IMG Academy colleague, four-star Quadir Copeland, selected Syracuse basketball in August. He is a top-90 prospect and a top-20 point guard.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, but those are five really, really good 2022 players, if you ask me. Sure, they’re not five-star, top-20 prospects, but whatever.

Following two heart-breaking de-commitments and other recruiting misses, where the Orange’s 2022 class presently stands is glorious.