Syracuse Basketball: Blue-bloods will be tough to beat for 5-star target

Syracuse basketball coaches, in mid-September, made a trip to the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., to visit with several players on the powerhouse team.

One of those players is 2023 five-star wing Taylor Bowen, who at the time of this writing was ranked in the top-25 overall, and in the top-10 at small forward, by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Orange coaches have shown interest in Bowen, according to various media reports, although the stellar 2023 prospect does have a long list of impressive suitors, including multiple blue-blood programs and other recruiting heavyweights in collegiate hoops.

Bowen, who is just starting his junior season for the Brewster Academy, recently competed in the 2021 National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn.

According to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, coaches from Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and Connecticut watched Bowen suit up at this event.

Syracuse basketball has displayed interest in five-star wing Taylor Bowen.

Per Zagoria’s article, among the college groups recruiting Bowen the hardest are Duke, UConn, Providence, Kansas and Arkansas. That’s quite a list.

Other schools that have offered Bowen, or are showing interest in him, include Dayton, Marquette, Southern California, Maryland, Penn State, LSU, Rutgers, Iowa, Vermont and George Mason.

Bowen, who suits up for the Boston-based Expressions Elite Basketball on the AAU circuit, told Zagoria that he plans to set up official visits to the campuses of Duke, Kansas and Arkansas.

In recent years, Syracuse basketball has fared well attracting players from the Brewster Academy to the Hill. And the ‘Cuse coaching staff does seem to have a high interest in multiple 2023 prospects who attend the Brewster Academy.

For example, the Orange has offered five-star guard/wing Matas Buzelis and four-star combo guard Reid Ducharme, while Syracuse basketball has shown interest in Bowen as well as four-star shooting guard Aaron Clark, according to reports.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, nor am I in Bowen’s inner circle, but I don’t get the sense that the ‘Cuse is a major player in his recruiting process, at least for now.

"I’d love to see the Orange become a factor, though. Bowen is a promising and talented high-school prospect. When asked by Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten where his game has improved, Bowen said, “My guard skills have gotten better but my next area of development is my body and I’m putting that first over everything. I think once I develop my body more I’ll be able to show a lot of the polishes I’m making on my game.”"