Syracuse Basketball: As 4-star Judah Mintz to decide, fans hope to win out

It’s almost decision time for 2022 four-star guard Judah Mintz, who was previously committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Pittsburgh and has Syracuse basketball among his finalists.

According to media reports, the 6-foot-3 Mintz is expected to reveal his collegiate destination during the 2022 GEICO Nationals, which will run from March 31 to April 2 at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Ft. Myers, Fla.

Mintz is a senior at the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and the Warriors are the No. 5 seed in the 2022 GEICO Nationals, an eight-team tournament that will crown a national champion for the 2021-22 season.

Earlier this year, Mintz took an official visit to the Hill. He has also made trips to DePaul, Wake Forest and N.C. State of late. As we’ve noted in numerous columns, the buzz according to some national analysts centers on DePaul.

Syracuse basketball fans have discussed 4-star Judah Mintz a lot in recent weeks.

The topic of Mintz’s recruitment has proven a hotly debated issue among Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms. Some ‘Cuse fans believe it’s a done deal that Mintz is headed to the Blue Demons out of the Big East Conference.

Then again, like me, the majority of these fans don’t have any inside information on Mintz’s recruiting process, meaning their opinions are pure speculation.

Of course, I get where they’re coming from, as there have been numerous signs of late that DePaul may be the favorite for this consensus top-80 player in the 2022 cycle, who is deemed a top-10 guard in this class and ranked as high as No. 35 across the country by ESPN.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were three predictions for Mintz in the direction of DePaul on the 247Sports Web site. Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater and 247Sports national basketball director Eric Bossi have said that they like the Blue Demons’ chances here, too.

Late Tuesday evening, Russ Wood logged a projection for Mintz to DePaul on Rivals.com. And not too long ago, On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw made a prediction for Mintz to the Blue Demons as well.

Also on Tuesday night, Josh Nichols of 24/7 High School Hoops tweeted in part, “Experts have predicted Mintz to DePaul, but I’m hearing Syracuse is VERY MUCH an option.”

Honestly, we’ll just have to wait and see on this recruiting battle for Mintz. As we noted on Tuesday, 2022 five-star guard Skyy Clark didn’t put the ‘Cuse among his six finalists.

Syracuse basketball coaches reportedly had reached out to the 6-foot-3 Clark, a senior at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., who had de-committed from Kentucky.

Even without Clark and perhaps Mintz, it’s not like the sky is falling for the Orange, at least from my perspective. Looking ahead to the 2022-23 campaign, the ‘Cuse has two rising senior guards, as well as two four-star guards among its five-member 2022 recruiting class.

Naturally, I’m hopeful that Judah Mintz ends up selecting Syracuse basketball. If he doesn’t, that will be a bummer, although I wish him well at the collegiate level, where I’m sure that he will shine.