AAU teams with Syracuse basketball targets soar into pre-season rankings

As the 2021-22 season winds down for high-school teams, prep squads and independent basketball academies, Syracuse basketball recruits and other prospects will begin to gear up for a variety of AAU events in the spring and summer on the grassroots basketball circuit.

The Circuit recently published its pre-season top-10 rankings for the 17 and under division on theseasonticket.com, and several AAU groups on this list have rosters that include high-school players who hold scholarship offers, or interest, from the Orange.

In this piece, we’re going to discuss three AAU teams, all of which suit up on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League (“EYBL”) circuit. Those squads are the New Jersey Scholars Elite Basketball Club, the North Carolina-based Team Cp3 and the Maryland-based Team Durant.

Syracuse basketball recruiting targets play for highly regarded AAU units.

By the way, the bevy of high-school prospects on these AAU teams reside in the 2023 (junior year) recruiting cycle, as well as a handful of sophomores who are in the 2024 class.

The New Jersey Scholars Elite Basketball Club checks in at No. 5 within The Circuit’s pre-season ratings. This AAU squad boasts an absolutely loaded line-up, led by 2023 five-star point guard D.J. Wagner.

The 6-foot-3 Wagner, who most recruiting services rank the No. 1 player in the 2023 class, is a junior at Camden High School in Camden, N.J. The ‘Cuse coaching staff offered him last August.

Wagner put forth an excellent 2021-22 stanza for Camden High School. Both MaxPreps and Gatorade recently named him as the player of the year in New Jersey for his performance this season.

Also on the New Jersey Scholars Elite Basketball Club roster is 2023 five-star center Aaron Bradshaw, who is also a junior at Camden High School alongside Wagner.

Numerous recruiting services rate the 7-foot Bradshaw as a top-25 overall prospect in his class, as well as a top-two center in the 2023 cycle. We’ve reported in the past that Syracuse basketball coaches have shown interest in Bradshaw, although I’ve yet to see the Orange officially offer him.

One of the leaders of Team Cp3, rated No. 6 by The Circuit, is 2023 four-star point guard Aden Holloway, who has played at a stellar level during his junior term for the powerhouse La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.

The 6-foot-1 Holloway picked up an offer from the ‘Cuse back in the summer of 2019, according to recruiting services. Multiple recruiting Web sites deem Holloway as a top-50 overall prospect and a top-10 point guard in the 2023 class.

A standout for Team Durant, slotted at No. 10 in The Circuit’s pre-season poll, is 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr., who was offered by Syracuse basketball this past October.

The 6-foot-9 Evans is a junior at the juggernaut Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. As we noted in a recent column, unfortunately, the Orange coaching staff doesn’t appear as heavily involved with Evans as it once was, according to recent reports.

A bunch of recruiting services, including the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, place Evans as the No. 2 player around the country in the 2023 cycle.