Syracuse Basketball: 5-star Brewster target hears from Duke, UK the most

Syracuse basketball got in early on with 2023 five-star prospect Matas Buzelis, offering the stellar 6-foot-10 guard/wing a scholarship about a year ago.

It remains to be seen whether that will help the Orange throughout Buzelis’ recruitment, and the ‘Cuse has a ton of big-time competition to overcome to win out for this elite prep-school player.

Buzelis, a junior at the powerhouse Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., has in recent months vaulted into the top-10 nationally, according to multiple recruiting services.

And his list of suitors is extensive. Besides the Orange, they include Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, North Carolina, Illinois, Florida, Purdue, Oklahoma, Arizona, UCLA, Maryland, Wake Forest and Connecticut, among others.

Syracuse basketball faces an uphill climb to pick up five-star Matas Buzelis.

According to a recent tweet from Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater, Buzelis said these days he’s hearing the most from Duke and Kentucky, which are both blue-blood programs and virtually every year compete for the No. 1 recruiting class around the country.

The Blue Devils have offered Buzelis, although I don’t believe the Wildcats have – yet. Per Slater’s tweet, Buzelis plans to officially visit Kentucky on December 21-22, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s offered by the Wildcats coaching staff on that trip.

Previously, Buzelis had made official visits to Florida State and Wake Forest. I’m hopeful that he may, perhaps, travel to the Hill at some point down the road.

As we’ve noted in other columns, Syracuse basketball coaches in mid-September did go to the Brewster Academy to visit with Buzelis and some of his prep-school teammates.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, nor am I in Buzelis’ inner circle. However, it does appear to me that the Orange is likely a long-shot to prevail in Buzelis’ recruitment, given all the recruiting titans vying for him.

Then again, the ‘Cuse has done well in recent years attracting Brewster Academy players to Central New York. Buzelis has proven one of the hottest prospects in the 2023 cycle of late, and he will probably contend for the No. 1 overall ranking in this class.

To date, I haven’t seen any predictions from national analysts or recruiting insiders as to a collegiate destination for Buzelis, but his bio on the 247Sports Web site suggests a warm interest level with Duke and Kentucky.

He’s already planned a trip to the Wildcats. I’m sure he’ll end up visiting the Blue Devils. If Syracuse basketball coaches can get Buzelis on campus for a visit to the ‘Cuse, maybe that will help the Orange’s chances here.