Syracuse basketball not among teams recruiting 4-star center hard – report

Back in mid-December, we published a piece on 2023 four-star big man Papa Kante, noting that according to a national recruiting analyst, the 6-foot-10 power forward/center was eyeing a visit to Syracuse basketball in the future.

Now, that trip absolutely could still happen. However, I came across a report published this week by the terrific 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London, and that article mentioned a few teams that are recruiting Kante hard.

I didn’t see the ‘Cuse mentioned here. Those teams recruiting Kante hard, according to London, include Tennessee, Connecticut, Providence, Marquette and Kansas. In total, Kante has about 15 scholarship offers, including relatively recent ones from the likes of Michigan, Iowa, and Seton Hall.

Kante said in his interview with London that, at present, Michigan is “probably the one recruiting me the hardest.” These recruitments can ebb and flow, and I haven’t seen Kante publicly mention that the Orange isn’t a contender.

That being said, it does seem like maybe the ‘Cuse is a long shot at this juncture for Kante, a top-100 player in the 2023 cycle who is a junior at the South Kent School in South Kent, Conn.

Let’s see if Syracuse basketball gets a visit from four-star big man Papa Kante.

According to media reports and recruiting services, besides the Orange, Kante holds offers from teams such as Michigan, Kansas, Georgetown, Miami, Iowa, Tennessee, Seton Hall, Rutgers, TCU, Providence, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Iona, East Carolina and UMass.

A recent tweet from Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater notes that Kante is also garnering interest from Michigan State, UConn, Marquette and Xavier.

Here is the latest on Kante’s national rankings in the 2023 cycle, according to various recruiting services. Rivals.com has him as four stars and No. 127 overall.

When ESPN refreshed its list of the top-60 players in this class, Kante didn’t make the cut. Over at 247Sports, he is three stars and No. 131 nationally.

Most importantly, though, at the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rated Kante as four stars, No. 92 nationwide, No. 9 at center and No. 3 in Connecticut.

Kante did say in his chat with London that he is “probably going to visit most of the schools who have offered me after the season.” I’m not a recruiting analyst, so I don’t want to speculate, but it would really prove huge for the Orange’s chances with Kante if he elects to take an official visit to the ‘Cuse.

By the way, he has been on an unofficial visit to Central New York. Last August, Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to Kante at the team’s annual Elite Camp.