Syracuse Basketball: Analyst predicts 5-star target to this recruiting power

Elite 2023 prospect Kwame Evans Jr. has a long list of suitors at this stage in his recruitment, including Syracuse basketball, and one national analyst has logged a prediction regarding his future collegiate destination.

At the time of this writing, national recruiting analyst Russ Wood had projected on Rivals.com that he thinks the 6-foot-9 Evans will ultimately choose Oregon out of the Pac-12 Conference.

Now, given that Evans is just getting started with his junior year of prep-school ball, his recruiting process could have a long way to go. Many more high-major offers could arrive for him.

That being said, I could absolutely see Oregon landing the 2023 five-star forward. The Ducks, in recent years, have done quite well in the Pac-12, as well as the NCAA Tournament.

A stanza ago, Oregon went on a run to the Sweet 16. In 2017, the Ducks reached the Final Four. Additionally, head coach Dana Altman and his assistants have done a fabulous job of late on the recruiting trail.

Syracuse basketball is in a recruiting battle for five-star Kwame Evans Jr.

Two recent examples of Oregon’s prowess in recruiting certainly have ties to the ‘Cuse. For one, former Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson, a five-star point guard, picked the Ducks earlier this year.

Secondly, former Orange forward Quincy Guerrier transferred to Oregon this past off-season after his sophomore stint on the Hill. The talented junior selected the Ducks over three other finalists in Arizona State, Illinois and Memphis.

Getting back to Evans, he played as a sophomore for the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute but will suit up in his junior campaign for the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

To date, Evans has acquired more than 20 scholarship offers, from teams such as Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Memphis, Texas, Southern California, Florida, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Auburn.

Syracuse basketball coaches only offered Evans in the last few weeks. Ranked No. 2 overall in his class by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Evans recently received visits at the Montverde Academy from coaches with schools such as Duke, Oregon and USC, according to tweets by recruiting insiders that Evans posted on his own Twitter page.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, but I do think that Evans’ recruitment will carry on for a while longer. So to presume that Oregon is the front-runner for Evans may prove a little premature for now.