Syracuse Basketball: 4-star commit’s latest national rankings a mixed bag

I am an adamant believer that 2022 four-star commit Justin Taylor, part of a stellar six-member class for the Orange in this cycle, is going to play significant minutes for Syracuse basketball in the upcoming campaign.

In fact, I think there’s a good chance that the 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward, a native of Charlottesville, Va., could be in the starting rotation for Orange head coach Jim Boeheim when the 2022-23 stanza gets going.

Taylor recently finished up his last season of prep school, where he suited up alongside another ‘Cuse 2022 four-star signee, 6-foot-6 point guard Quadir Copeland, for the post-grad team at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

National analysts and scouts praise Taylor for his shooting, both from beyond the arc and in the mid-range. Furthermore, experts say he has good positional size and strength, is a solid defender and rebounder, has a keen basketball IQ and court vision, and Taylor’s athleticism is maybe a tad underrated.

Let’s review updated national ratings for Syracuse basketball commit Justin Taylor.

With the 2021-22 season over and AAU competitions in full swing, various recruiting services are publishing their final national rankings for the 2022 class.

Depending on the recruiting service, Taylor is rated as either four stars or three stars.

On3 just unveiled its final 2022 national ratings, with Taylor checking in at three stars, No. 123 nationally, No. 33 at small forward and No. 18 in Florida.

He is also three stars according to the On3 Consensus, along with No. 135 overall, No. 33 at small forward and No. 19 in Florida.

In the last set of 2022 ratings from Rivals.com, Taylor arrives at four stars, No. 69 across the country and No. 17 at small forward.

Not too long ago, the final ESPN 100 was published for the 2022 cycle, and Taylor barely missed the cut for inclusion. ESPN does have him as four stars and the No. 29 small forward.

When Sports Illustrated disclosed its final SI99 ratings for 2022, Taylor was No. 81.

At the time that I penned this column, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite had Taylor as four stars, No. 115 nationally, No. 28 at small forward and No. 19 in Florida.

To the best of my knowledge, 247Sports hasn’t come out with its final 2022 national rankings. But for now, this recruiting service puts Taylor at three stars, No. 127 overall, No. 30 at small forward and No. 19 in Florida.

I’m not a recruiting analyst nor a scout, but I’ve felt all along that Taylor is a four-star, top-100 player in the 2022 cycle. Some recruiting services have him inside the top-100 nationwide, and some don’t.

Like I always say, these sorts of ratings are somewhat subjective. Personally, I’m excited to see Taylor get to Central New York in the near future. I think he can have a big impact as a freshman in 2022-23.

By the way, last summer, Taylor picked Syracuse basketball over a group of finalists that included North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Virginia.