It’s probably a huge long shot that they’ll make the final cut, but a pair of Syracuse basketball 2022 commits have been nominated for the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game.
Hundreds of high-school players, both on the boys’ and girls’ sides, were nominated for this prestigious event, which was canceled the past two years amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
According to a story from Mike Curtis of Syracuse.com, the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game will take place on March 29 in Chicago.
Among the nominees are Orange 2022 signees Chris Bunch, a four-star small forward, and Maliq Brown, a three-star power forward. Numerous former ‘Cuse recruiting targets in this cycle also received nominations, including Central New York native and four-star guard J.J. Starling (Notre Dame), four-star center Donovan Clingan (Connecticut), five-star power forward Jarace Walker (Houston) and five-star point guard Dior Johnson, who was once verbally committed to the Orange but is now an Oregon commit.
Syracuse basketball commits have been nominated for an All-American contest.
Bunch is a senior at the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah. He chose the ‘Cuse over other finalists Rutgers and Mike Hopkins-led Washington.
According to 247Sports, Bunch is a top-60 overall prospect and a top-20 small forward. He is the highest-rated player in the Syracuse basketball five-member class in 2022, at least for the time being.
Brown, a top-30 power forward according to Rivals.com, is a senior at the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va. He is playing quite well during his senior stanza and picked the Orange over Georgetown, Penn State, Virginia Tech and N.C. State.
The other three commits in the Syracuse basketball 2022 cycle are four-star shooting guard Justin Taylor, four-star point guard Quadir Copeland and three-star power forward/center Peter Carey.
Taylor and Copeland are not eligible for the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game, because they suit up for the post-grad squad at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Carey attends the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass.
Per Curtis’ article, the 24 boys and 24 girls who will be slated to compete in the 2022 McDonald’s All-American Game will get revealed via ESPN on January 25.
I wouldn’t expect either Bunch or Brown to be included on the 24-player roster, however, it’s certainly a nice honor for them to get nominated nonetheless.