Syracuse basketball not a finalist for 5-star Baltimore forward, No. 2 junior

Based on a variety of recent media reports, I didn’t get the sense that Syracuse basketball was in the running for 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. from Baltimore, who is ranked the No. 2 prospect in the junior cycle, according to numerous recruiting services.

Well, now it’s official. The 6-foot-9 Evans, who is listed as either a small forward or a power forward depending on the recruiting Web site, has revealed his list of five finalists.

They are Oregon, Indiana, Auburn, Kentucky and UCLA, according to reports, including one from On3 national analyst Joe Tipton. I had hoped that the Orange would emerge as a significant contender for Evans, but I’m not surprised that his top five doesn’t include the ‘Cuse.

Back in early January of this year, Evans did note in an interview that Syracuse basketball was among the college squads heavily involved in his recruitment. More recently, though, when I would read articles about Evans from recruiting analysts, the Orange wasn’t mentioned really at all.

Syracuse basketball offered five-star Kwame Evans Jr. last fall.

Evans just wrapped up his junior stanza at the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. Just a couple of days ago, the Montverde Academy captured the 2022 GEICO Nationals in Ft. Myers, Fla., to claim a high-school national title for the 2021-22 campaign.

During this year’s GEICO Nationals, Evans averaged eight points and six rebounds as the Eagles went 3-0, according to an article from MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens.

According to recruiting services and reports, Evans has received more than two-dozen offers throughout his recruitment, including from UCLA, Kentucky, Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, Memphis, Texas, Southern California, Florida, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Auburn.

Evans picked up a scholarship offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff in October of 2021. He has made a trip to Kentucky and plans to take an official visit to Oregon toward the end of April.

Under his bio on the On3 Web site, the recruiting prediction machine presently lists the two potential front-runners as Kentucky and Oregon. At the time of this writing, three projections for Evans in the direction of Oregon have gotten logged on Rivals.com.

I’m not a recruiting expert, although I could envision the Ducks and the Wildcats being involved in Evans’ recruiting process until the very end. That being said, Indiana, Auburn and UCLA are excellent options, too.

Syracuse basketball has offered scholarships to around 15 high-school players in the 2023 class, but in all honesty, it’s really tough to gauge which of these prospects the Orange may have a realistic shot at landing.