Syracuse Basketball: Recruiting giant into mix for 5-star target from Philly

Elite junior Justin Edwards is the latest Syracuse basketball recruiting target to get offered a scholarship by Kentucky, a Southeastern Conference member and one of the recruiting powerhouses in collegiate hoops.

The 6-foot-7 wing, who recently took an official visit to the Wildcats, disclosed his Kentucky offer via Twitter. Edwards, a 2023 five-star small forward, already had a boatload of high-major offers, but the Wildcats and their head coach, ace recruiter John Calipari, figure to be a significant contender for the Philadelphia high-school prospect.

In fact, two months ago, a recruiting insider on Rivals.com logged a prediction for Edwards in the direction of Kentucky, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if other national analysts follow suit.

Edwards is a junior at the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, and he’s also a consensus top-20 player across the country within the 2023 cycle.

Syracuse basketball faces an uphill battle for five-star Justin Edwards.

Orange coaches offered Edwards over the summer. In recent months, based on media reports and interviews given by Edwards, several college teams have apparently had some buzz with him, including Kentucky, Connecticut and Penn State.

Of course, since Edwards is just starting up in his junior season of high school, his recruiting process could have a long way to go. I’d love to see him eventually take an official visit to the Hill.

By the way, as we detailed in another recent column, Kentucky recently offered another Syracuse basketball 2023 five-star target, 6-foot-9 forward Kwame Evans Jr. from Baltimore.

Evans, deemed by some recruiting services as the No. 2 overall prospect in this class, is a junior at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., and landed a ‘Cuse scholarship offer in October, according to media reports.

Switching back to Edwards, national analysts and scouts have described him as a lengthy, versatile and crafty player who shoots the ball extremely well and continues to work hard at enhancing his all-around game.

Edwards, of late, has proven one of the hottest 2023 prospects nationwide. He performed at a high level during AAU competitions over the summer, and Edwards made one of the largest jumps in the country when 247Sports recently refreshed its national ratings for this cycle.

A top-10 player in 2023 per some recruiting Web sites, Edwards’ other offers include from LSU, Ohio State, Virginia, Maryland, Auburn, Miami, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John’s, VCU, South Carolina and Tennessee.