Syracuse basketball 4-star, 5-star targets raise stock at talent-laden event

Dozens of prep-school programs recently competed at an elite tournament in Massachusetts, and multiple Syracuse basketball recruiting targets performed at an exceptional level, according to analysts and scouts.

The Zero Gravity Prep Classic was held earlier this month at the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton, Mass. The event’s organizers said that more than 60 top prep-school programs from throughout North America committed to the Zero Gravity Prep Classic.

According to an article on the New England Recruiting Report’s Web site, the tournament’s first team included 2023 four-star big man Isaiah Miranda. And the second team featured 2023 five-star wing Taylor Bowen and 2023 four-star wing Gavin Griffiths.

Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Griffiths more than a year ago. Late last month, the ‘Cuse offered Miranda. Syracuse basketball coaches have shown interest in Bowen, according to media reports.

Let’s further delve into the recruitments of these Syracuse basketball prospects.

Miranda, a junior at the Springfield Commonwealth Academy in Springfield, Mass., is a consensus top-45 player in the 2023 cycle, as well as a top-five center across the country.

He holds more than 15 scholarship offers and interest from some recruiting giants, including Kentucky, and Miranda is planning to take an official visit to the Wildcats later this month.

Griffiths, a consensus top-65 prospect whose stock has soared of late, is a junior at the Kingswood Oxford School out of West Hartford, Conn.

At the Zero Gravity Prep Classic, he tallied an impressive 33 points in one contest. Orange coaches got involved with Griffiths relatively early on in his recruiting process, although he is currently garnering interest from some big-time programs.

The Pro Insight scouting service published a recent write-up on this event, and the piece featured a ton of praise on Griffiths, who I think could emerge as a five-star player in the 2023 class.

As far as Bowen, he is a top-25 prospect nationally in his cycle. Bowen is a junior at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., and ‘Cuse coaches reportedly visited with him in mid-September at his prep school.

I haven’t seen anything about an official scholarship offer to Bowen by Syracuse basketball as of yet. We’ve noted in several recent columns that he is being heavily pursued by numerous blue-blood squads.

Pro Insight noted in a tweet 30 prospects who caught their attention at the Zero Gravity Prep Classic. Besides the three players we’ve already discussed, Pro Insight mentioned 2023 five-star guard/wing Matas Buzelis, 2023 four-star shooting guard Aaron Clark and 2023 four-star combo guard Reid Ducharme.

These three 2023 guys all attend the Brewster Academy, along with Bowen. The ‘Cuse offered Buzelis in November of 2020 and Ducharme this past August. The Orange has reportedly displayed interest in Clark.

By the way, if you want to see the full list of game results from the Zero Gravity Prep Classic, please click here.