Syracuse basketball 5-star targets vying to emerge as nation’s best player

A watch list recently got disclosed for an award that will eventually honor the top underclassman in high-school hoops, and multiple Syracuse basketball five-star recruiting targets are in the mix for this recognition.

The watch list for the Naismith High School Trophy honoring the best underclassman during the 2021-22 campaign includes 25 high-school prospects at this juncture, according to the award’s Web site.

These players are situated within the 2023 and 2024 recruiting cycles, meaning that they are currently in their junior and sophomore years, respectively.

I’m counting five prospects on the watch list who either have a scholarship offer from the Orange, or the ‘Cuse coaching staff is expressing interest in them.

Let’s see which Syracuse basketball targets are on the Naismith watch list.

Those who made the cut are 2024 five-star power forward Derik Queen, 2023 five-star small forward Justin Edwards, 2023 five-star wing Elijah Fisher, 2023 five-star power forward G.G. Jackson and 2023 five-star wing Taylor Bowen.

The 6-foot-8 Queen is a consensus top-five player in his class. He hails from Baltimore and currently suits up for the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. The ‘Cuse offered Queen in October.

The 6-foot-7 Edwards, a top-10 prospect across the country in his cycle according to some recruiting services, landed an Orange offer this past summer. He attends Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia.

The 6-foot-7 Fisher, who was offered by Syracuse basketball in the summer of 2020, is one of the best Canadian prospects out there. He goes to Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario.

The Orange was the first college squad to offer the 6-foot-8 Jackson, back in August of 2020. He is a top-10 player in the 2023 class, per the bevy of recruiting Web sites. Jackson is out of Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C.

Syracuse basketball has shown interest in the 6-foot-9 Bowen, a top-25 player out of the juggernaut Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. Bowen has multiple blue-blood programs pursuing him, as we recently noted.

I was a little surprised that 2023 four-star wing Gavin Griffiths didn’t make this watch list. The 6-foot-7 Griffiths, offered by the ‘Cuse more than a year ago, is one of the hottest prospects in his class. He attends the Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn.