Syracuse Basketball: In new ratings, 5-star target has biggest jump in class

Recruiting service 247Sports recently refreshed its national ratings for the 2023 cycle, and Syracuse basketball five-star prospect Justin Edwards tied for the largest rankings increase across the entire class.

The 6-foot-7 wing moved from No. 56 to No. 11 overall, according to 247Sports, which is a massive ratings gain. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he ends up contending for the No. 1 national ranking in the 2023 cycle.

Just for context, given that other recruiting Web sites have also recently updated their 2023 ratings, Edwards is No. 8 nationally according to Rivals.com, as well as No. 16 overall via ESPN.

The junior at the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia is a consensus five-star prospect in the 2023 class, with the industry-generated 247Sports Composite having him at No. 16 nationwide.

Syracuse basketball got into the mix for five-star Justin Edwards not too long ago.

Orange coaches offered Edwards over the summer. Other college teams vying for him include LSU, Ohio State, Virginia, Connecticut, Maryland, Auburn, Miami, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, VCU, South Carolina and Tennessee.

In a handful of recent interviews given by Edwards with national analysts, the elite 2023 player has said that Connecticut and Kentucky are among those groups recruiting him the hardest.

“Now Kentucky is coming heavy,” Edwards recently said to Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy in an interview.

As we noted in a recent column, a recruiting insider on Rivals.com has logged a prediction in the direction of Kentucky as it pertains to Edwards’ future collegiate destination.

Let’s be real. Any time that the Wildcats and their head coach, recruiting guru John Calipari, are in the fray, Kentucky is likely to be viewed as a serious player in a high-school prospect’s recruitment.

From media reports I’ve read of late, UConn coaches are also in frequent contact with Edwards. What I haven’t seen, at least recently, is a lot of mentions of Syracuse basketball when articles are written about Edwards by recruiting insiders.

Now, that doesn’t mean the Orange is out of the mix for Edwards. But I do think the ‘Cuse faces an uphill climb in trying to pick up this terrific prospect, who is praised by analysts for his three-level scoring, rebounding, passing and defense.