For Syracuse basketball, 2022 class could be sneaky good, analyst says

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Dan McDonald appears to be pretty high on the Syracuse basketball five-member class in the 2022 cycle.

We noted in a column not too long ago various positive things that McDonald had to say about the Orange 2022 class, and now he’s given this ‘Cuse cycle even more praise, which I’m delighted to share.

McDonald and other Rivals.com experts recently published a roundtable where they discussed 2022 classes currently ranked outside the top-15 nationally that could be “sneaky good.”

When it was McDonald’s turn to discuss the topic, he went with the Syracuse basketball 2022 cycle, which features four-star point guard Quadir Copeland, four-star shooting guard Justin Taylor, four-star small forward Chris Bunch, three-star power forward Maliq Brown and three-star power forward/center Peter Carey.

Syracuse basketball boasts an intriguing and well-balanced 2022 class.

Now, for quite some period of time, there was a lot of hype surrounding the possibilities for the Orange’s 2022 cycle. I, for one, felt the ‘Cuse could contend for the No. 1 national ranking, which was probably a little over the top.

But that was when Syracuse basketball had a verbal commitment back in the day from 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson, who ultimately reopened his recruitment and pledged to Oregon.

The Orange, earlier this year, also had a verbal commitment from 2022 four-star wing Kamari Lands, who reopened his recruiting process this past August.

Still, while Syracuse basketball won’t possess the No. 1 class in 2022, and this five-member cycle isn’t probably going to end up in the top-10 overall, either, let me be clear.

Head coach Jim Boeheim and his assistants did a remarkable job securing this 2022 class, in my humble opinion. These five prospects are all really solid, some of them are under-ranked from my perspective, and they cover every position on the floor.

By the way, here are the links if you want to see where the ‘Cuse 2022 cycle is nationally rated, according to both 247Sports and Rivals.com.

Getting back to McDonald’s comments, he in essence says that these five high-school players are well-suited for the Syracuse basketball system, although he didn’t note Brown in his piece, which I found strange.

"McDonald said in part, “Copeland is the play-making guard with length and athleticism to play in the front of the zone. Bunch is another long, athletic forward that will be perfect playing on the wing in the back line of the zone. Taylor’s ability to make shots will be much needed as Buddy Boeheim departs from the program. And lastly, Peter Carey is an intriguing 7-footer with upside to anchor the middle of the zone.”"

As it pertains to Brown, he is an athletic and physical big man who should fare quite well in the ‘Cuse 2-3 zone. From what I can tell, he is a strong rebounder, he has good defensive instincts, and he’s an underrated scorer.