Syracuse Basketball: After rankings refresh, 2022 class arrives in top 20

It seems that national recruiting analysts appear to differ in their rating assessments of the five-member Syracuse basketball 2022 class.

Case in point, we noted not too long ago that none of the Orange’s 2022 signees made the cut when ESPN updated its national rankings of the top-100 prospects in this cycle.

We also recently published a piece detailing that only one of the ‘Cuse 2022 commits, at that time, was included in the top-100 overall for this class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. We should note here, however, that ratings from this composite index can ebb and flow.

But even with some of these recent dips, I’ve continued to emphatically maintain that the Syracuse basketball 2022 class is filled with high-school players who boast tons of talent and potential to shine at the collegiate level, regardless of what subjective rankings say.

Several Syracuse basketball 2022 commits are included in new national ratings.

Rivals.com, not too long ago, updated its rankings of the top-150 prospects in the 2022 class, and I’m pleased to share that three Orange signees are featured.

The highest-rated ‘Cuse commit, per Rivals.com, is shooting guard/small forward Justin Taylor, who plays on the post-grad squad at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Taylor is No. 68 nationally and No. 16 at small forward, according to Rivals.com. Up next is small forward Chris Bunch. A senior at the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Bunch is No. 80 across the country and No. 21 at small forward.

Taylor’s teammate at the IMG Academy, point guard Quadir Copeland, is No. 91 nationwide and No. 22 at his position. Rivals.com lists Copeland, Bunch and Taylor as four-star players.

Power forward Maliq Brown, who is out of the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va., is three stars and No. 32 at his position, according to Rivals.com.

Power forward/center Peter Carey, who has been recovering from a knee injury and most recently competed for the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass., is also three stars, per Rivals.com.

By the way, when I penned this column, the Syracuse basketball 2022 class was ranked No. 18 nationally by Rivals.com. By comparison, at the time of this writing, the Orange 2022 cycle came in at No. 25 overall and No. 7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to the 247Sports Web site.

So to recap, Rivals.com analysts believe that the ‘Cuse 2022 class includes three four-star players and two three-star prospects. Three commits are in the top 100. Three signees are in the top 25 at their position, while another is in the top 35 at his position.

Yeah, yeah. Syracuse basketball doesn’t have a 2022 cycle like Duke, Kentucky or other heavyweights in the sport. I get it. However, this is a top-20 class for the Orange, and these ‘Cuse commits have a legit chance to do something special on the Hill over the next few years.