Syracuse Basketball: Orange should pursue 4-star wing headed to Oak Hill

In recent recruiting cycles, Syracuse basketball coaches have done an excellent job of picking up talented players who had ties to the fertile Washington, D.C., market through either their high-school or AAU teams.

Just in the past two recruiting classes, for example, the Orange’s D.C. connections have included current freshman forward Benny Williams along with 2022 signees Judah Mintz, a four-star combo guard, Justin Taylor, a four-star shooting guard/small forward, and Maliq Brown, a three-star power forward.

A four-star, top-60 prospect in the 2024 cycle whom I’d love to see the ‘Cuse coaching staff pursue, if it hasn’t already begun to do so, is 6-foot-6 small forward AJ Swinton.

Swinton put up some nice statistics in his sophomore season for the powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., and he recently said on Twitter that he is transferring to another powerhouse group, the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

The Oak Hill Academy, by the way, is where Mintz shined as a senior during the recent 2021-22 stanza. This juggernaut squad is a member of the premier league across high-school hoops, the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference.

Four-star wing AJ Swinton is a prospect to watch in 2024 for Syracuse basketball.

According to the MaxPreps Web site, as a sophomore for DeMatha Catholic, Swinton averaged 7.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per contest for a team that went 21-7 overall.

It seems that, on the grassroots basketball circuit, Swinton suits up for the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. This AAU program’s alumni base, we should note, includes Williams and Taylor, among others.

As a member of the 2024 cycle, Swinton’s recruiting process likely has a way to go. Per recruiting services, his early scholarship offers include from Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Xavier, George Mason and Howard.

Trust me, though. Swinton’s offer list is going to grow, and likely rather quickly. Come mid-June, college coaches will be able to start making direct contact with high-school players in the 2024 class.

Hopefully, Syracuse basketball coaches will get into the mix for AJ Swinton, who is rated as four stars by multiple recruiting services, as well as a top-60 national prospect and a top-20 small forward in his cycle.

Rivals.com has him at No. 49 overall. The industry-generated On3 Consensus places Swinton at No. 42 nationally, No. 14 at small forward and No. 3 in Maryland.

Another industry-generated ranking service, the 247Sports Composite, situates Swinton at No. 59 across the country, No. 17 at small forward and No. 5 in Maryland.

We’ll continue to monitor his recruiting process to see whether the Orange ends up showing interest in Swinton or, better yet, offers him a scholarship.