Syracuse Basketball: 4-star commit, his prep team face grueling schedule

Recent Syracuse basketball commit Chris Bunch, a four-star wing in the 2022 class, is suiting up for a prep-school powerhouse during his senior season, and his team has quite a loaded docket ahead of itself in the 2021-22 campaign.

The 6-foot-7 Bunch is a consensus top-100 prospect nationally in the 2022 cycle. He’s rated in the top-60 overall by 247Sports, and Bunch is also one of the country’s premier small forwards in 2022, arriving in the top-20 across the country at his position.

Bunch, by the way, has signed his national letter of intent to suit up for the Orange, according to a recent announcement posted on cuse.com. Last month, he revealed that he would play for Syracuse basketball, selecting the Orange over Mike Hopkins-led Washington and Rutgers.

For his senior year, Bunch transferred from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., to the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah. At his new prep school, he’s competing alongside former ‘Cuse 2022 target Roddy Gayle Jr., a four-star shooting guard who has committed to Ohio State.

Let’s examine the teams that Syracuse basketball commit Chris Bunch will play this term.

First of all, according to MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens, the Wasatch Academy finished at 18-7 a season ago and was ranked No. 12 nationwide.

In the MaxPreps pre-season national rankings of the top-20 independent programs, including prep schools, the Wasatch Academy checks in at No. 11.

The Wasatch Academy, as we noted in an article earlier this year, is a member of the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference, a super league of sorts in prep-school hoops.

Between the NIBC and other events, the Wasatch Academy will play a bunch of foes that are situated in the MaxPreps top-20 ratings, including the No. 1 AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz., the No. 2 Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., the No. 4 Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., the No. 5 Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., the No. 7 Link Academy in Branson, Mo., the No. 9 La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., and the No. 18 Legacy Early College in Greenville, S.C.

Divens’ article on the Wasatch Academy that we linked to earlier in this story provides specific dates as to when Bunch and his prep school compete against these groups just mentioned as well as other future opponents.

The Montverde Academy roster features 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. and 2024 five-star power forward Derik Queen, both of whom hail from Baltimore and received scholarship offers from Syracuse basketball not too long ago.

Chance Westry, a 2022 four-star guard, had the Orange in his top 10 before recently picking Auburn. He also recently transferred to the AZ Compass Prep School.

Central New York native J.J. Starling, a 2022 four-star guard, recently chose Notre Dame after having Syracuse basketball among his five finalists. Starling attends the La Lumiere School.