Syracuse basketball is heavily involved with 5-star forward, the No. 2 junior

It’s going to prove a huge challenge for Syracuse basketball to win out in the recruiting sweepstakes for 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. from Baltimore, but it does appear that Orange coaches are going to give it their best shot.

In a recent interview, the 6-foot-9 Evans detailed the schools heavily involved in his recruitment at this juncture, and to the delight of ‘Cuse fans, Evans mentioned Syracuse basketball in this group.

Now, of course that doesn’t mean the Orange is any kind of a favorite for this elite junior, especially considering the daunting competition that the ‘Cuse faces for Evans.

However, I applaud the Syracuse basketball coaching staff for making a serious run at Evans, who at the time of this writing was rated No. 2 across the country in his recruiting cycle, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Syracuse basketball five-star target Kwame Evans Jr. has tons of top-flight suitors.

Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten recently published an interview with Evans. The recruiting analyst asked Evans which college squads are heavily involved in his recruitment, and the 2023 prospect responded, “Kentucky, Memphis, Indiana, Texas, Oregon, Duke, Syracuse, USC, and Auburn.”

Realistically, it will be quite difficult for the Orange to beat out those other schools. These days, the vast majority of them are among the giants in recruiting.

As a sophomore, Evans played for the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. In his junior campaign, he currently suits up for the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., which is one of the best basketball academies nationwide.

Evans, who some recruiting insiders and scouts say will significantly contend for the No. 1 spot in the 2023 class, recently took an official visit to Kentucky.

He has said that he would like to visit more college campuses. To that end, we recently noted that Evans plans on visiting USC, Texas and Duke, according to a story from 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London.

It’s certainly possible that Evans could take visits to other schools, and I would absolutely love to see him travel to the Hill.

According to his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Evans holds about two-dozen offers. Syracuse basketball offered him a scholarship in October, and his other offers include from Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Memphis, Texas, Southern California, Florida, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Auburn.

Evans said in Weingarten’s article that he definitely plans to visit Indiana, Oregon and Texas. As far as trimming down his list of contenders, Evans said that could come sometime during the AAU circuit.

While I’d be surprised if the Orange prevails here, if Evans comes out with a top-10 list, my sense is that the ‘Cuse has a pretty good shot at making that kind of cut.