Syracuse Basketball: In public-schools ranking, 5-star target tops in country

According to a new top-25 ranking of the best public high schools across the country, the No. 1 position goes out to a stellar team from New Jersey that is led by a Syracuse basketball five-star target.

This set of ratings was put out by recruiting analyst and scout Samad Hines on theseasonticket.com, and multiple squads that are included have ties to the ‘Cuse program.

Checking in at No. 1 is Camden High School in Camden, N.J. One of its star players is 2023 five-star point guard D.J. Wagner, who was offered a scholarship by Orange coaches this past August at the team’s annual Elite Camp.

Wagner, a pre-season first-team All-American per MaxPreps, is currently the consensus No. 1 junior, according to the primary recruiting services. He holds numerous other offers, including from Memphis, Kentucky and Villanova.

Hines writes that Camden High School has a 38-game winning streak entering the 2021-22 campaign, and the team will suit up against numerous excellent opponents throughout the term.

Other Syracuse basketball prospects play for ranked public high schools.

Two other teams in these top-25 ratings feature Orange targets in the 2023 class. The squads are Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia and Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C.

The Imhotep Institute Charter High School is No. 8 in Hines’ rankings, while Ridge View High School arrives at No. 24 nationally. Among the stand-outs for the Imhotep Institute Charter High School is five-star small forward Justin Edwards, who received a ‘Cuse offer over the summer.

Edwards is placed within the top-10 nationally of the 2023 cycle by a variety of recruiting services. His extensive list of suitors includes Kentucky, 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.

Ridge View High School is headlined by 2023 five-star power forward G.G. Jackson, who is also in the top-10 overall according to some recruiting services.

Jackson’s first college offer, back in August of 2020, came from the ‘Cuse. He has a flood of offers from many recruiting heavyweights in collegiate hoops, and North Carolina has received a lot of buzz lately from some national analysts as it relates to Jackson’s recruitment.

As we’ve noted on several occasions, Jackson and Edwards are among several Syracuse basketball five-star targets who could make a run at overtaking Wagner for the No. 1 overall ranking in the 2023 class.