Syracuse Basketball: FSU center transfer has 2 finalists, to decide today

Syracuse basketball and its fan base will know on Saturday whether former big-man recruit Quincy Ballard is headed to the Orange, according to a media report.

Ballard, a 7-foot sophomore center who has competed for Florida State over the past two seasons, recently entered into the NCAA’s transfer portal, and ‘Cuse coaches began showing interest in him. Not too long ago, he officially visited both the Hill as well as Wichita State.

SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, who is the best in the business, writes in a piece that Ballard, a Central New York native, will pick between the Orange and Wichita State.

Additionally, Ballard is expected to make his next collegiate destination known at noon this Saturday on his Instagram page, per McAllister.

Syracuse basketball appears to have a good shot at landing FSU center transfer Quincy Ballard.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, nor am I in Ballard’s inner circle. However, given his history with the ‘Cuse program, if I had to take a guess, I think that he will select Syracuse basketball later today.

With sophomore Frank Anselem having recently entered the portal, Orange coaches apparently wanted to add another center to back up junior Jesse Edwards, who is coming off an injury this past February.

The only other center on the 2022-23 roster for the ‘Cuse is 2022 three-star commit Peter Carey, who most recently suited up for the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Mount Hermon, Mass.

Ballard, a Syracuse-area native and a three-star prospect in the 2020 class, was recruited by Syracuse basketball out of high school. He played for Henninger High School in Syracuse and then the Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C.

As we noted in a prior column on Ballard after he hit the transfer portal, a report by Taylor Eldridge on kansas.com said that Maryland may also have been displaying interest in Ballard, in addition to Wichita State and the Orange.

In the spring of 2020, Ballard chose the Seminoles over other finalists the ‘Cuse and Maryland. The remainder of his top five had been Cincinnati and N.C. State.

Ballard, an athletic center with a prowess for blocking shots, could prove a solid back-up to Edwards. The Florida State transfer did play sparingly for FSU, averaging 4.7 minutes a game in 2021-22 and 3.3 minutes per contest in 2020-21, according to ESPN.

Yet Ballard does have some experience playing for a fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad. On a separate note, it’s worth pointing out here that Wichita State is looking to add Alabama senior transfer James Rojas, a power forward/center, per a tweet from Stadium analyst Jeff Goodman.