Syracuse Basketball: Analyst details suitors for 5-star guard Zion Cruz

The recruitment of 2022 five-star guard Zion Cruz, who holds a Syracuse basketball offer, continues onward.

The buzz among some national analysts and recruiting insiders is that Memphis may be the front-runner to land the 6-foot-5 Cruz, who is a senior at the Donda Academy in Simi Valley, Calif., where he transferred to after suiting up a season ago at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J.

Not too long ago, we noted in a column that the two primary contenders for Cruz could be recruiting juggernaut Memphis and the professional route, especially the NBA G League Ignite, according to an article from 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham.

But more recently, a separate national analyst has provided some thoughts on the recruiting process of Cruz, who was offered by the Orange more than two years ago and is a consensus top-60 prospect in the 2022 cycle.

Five-star Zion Cruz, who has a Syracuse basketball offer, appears to be still weighing his options.

Cruz was reportedly down to a final three of North Carolina, Creighton and Auburn a few months back, but he delayed his commitment announcement and reopened his recruitment shortly thereafter.

According to analyst predictions on the 247Sports Web site and Rivals.com, it does seem that Memphis might be the favorite for Cruz, but you never know how things will ultimately pan out in the recruiting world until a high-school prospect makes his decision.

In a piece that published only a few days ago, Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy discussed Cruz’s recruitment. Here’s what Cassidy had to say about Cruz, who is ranked No. 19 across the country by Rivals.com:

"“Memphis is involved with Cruz (and) seems to be the front-runner for the time being, while DePaul is involved as well. Illinois kicked the tires on his recruitment but hasn’t pressed particularly hard as of late. North Carolina, which was once the front-runner to land Cruz before exploring other options remains in sporadic contact.”"

As I’ve said on several occasions of late, the ‘Cuse isn’t going to pick up Cruz, unless something weird happens. Syracuse basketball already has a strong five-member class in 2022, and there doesn’t seem to have been much buzz between Cruz and the Orange for a while now, if ever.

In any event, myself and many other ‘Cuse fans out there have been following Cruz’s recruiting process for several years, so I’ll provide updates from time to time until he makes a college decision.