Syracuse Basketball: Judah Mintz among highest-rated signees since 2002

Four-star combo guard Judah Mintz, one of six commits for Syracuse basketball in the 2022 recruiting cycle, is among the highest-rated Orange signees that the program has hauled in over the past two-plus decades, according to data from the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

The 6-foot-3 Mintz, who had a stand-out senior season for the top-10 Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., during the 2021-22 campaign, checks in at No. 45 across the country in his class, per the composite.

Some individual recruiting services, like ESPN, have Mintz higher than No. 45, while others, such as On3, have him placed lower within the 2022 cycle.

That’s why for the purposes of this article, in which I’m examining Mintz’s national ranking as compared to other highly rated Syracuse basketball commits dating back to 2002, I’m relying on the 247Sports Composite, which aggregates individual rankings into its composite ratings.

Let’s see where Judah Mintz stacks up against Syracuse basketball signees over the last two decades.

Looking back to when the 247Sports Composite rankings were available online, I found around 20 Orange players who were rated higher than Mintz.

That being said, only a half-dozen ‘Cuse commits were ranked higher than Mintz between the 2013 cycle and the 2022 class, and they are Benny Williams, Tyus Battle, Malachi Richardson, Chris McCullough, Tyler Ennis and Tyler Roberson.

The other 15 Syracuse basketball signees rated higher than Mintz were from the 2002 cycle to the 2012 cycle, and I included Carmelo Anthony here, even though the 247Sports Composite didn’t appear to be around that far back. So I used Melo’s RSCI (“Recruiting Services Consensus Index”) rating.

One could understandably opine that Mintz is among the highest-rated commits for the ‘Cuse in recent cycles. One could also reasonably opine that, over the past bunch of years since the Orange moved from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference, recruiting results for the team on a national scale have taken somewhat of a dip.

Now, the NCAA sanctions from a few years ago did sting. But that is over and done with now, so to me, what’s in the past is in the past. Judah Mintz is a top-50 national prospect in his class, and he’s one of the highest-ranked signees for Syracuse basketball over the last decade.

It’s also true that Williams came to the Hill in the 2021 cycle rated even higher than Mintz, per the composite. And, naturally, some fans often point out that Williams played sparingly as a freshman.

While that’s correct in saying, some experts believe that Williams will take a big step forward in his sophomore stanza, and I agree with them.

Many national analysts and scouts have also prognosticated that Mintz will earn significant playing time in his freshman year during the 2022-23 season while making a big impact for the Orange. I concur with this assessment as well.

SU Commits Higher Than Judah Mintz
2002 To 2022 Classes
Data From 247Sports Composite
National Ranking, Recruiting Cycle

Judah Mintz, 45 (2022)

Benny Williams, 32 (2021)

Tyus Battle, 34 (2016)

Malachi Richardson, 34 (2015)

Chris McCullough, 21 (2014)

Tyler Ennis, 23 (2013)

Tyler Roberson, 41 (2013)

DaJuan Coleman, 22 (2012)

Rakeem Christmas, 23 (2011)

Michael Carter-Williams, 26 (2011)

Fab Melo, 14 (2010)

Dion Waiters, 21 (2010)

Mookie Jones, 43 (2008)

Donte Greene, 7 (2007)

Jonny Flynn, 18 (2007)

Paul Harris, 12 (2006)

Eric Devendorf, 33 (2005)

Josh Wright, 43 (2004)

Darryl Watkins, 24 (2003)

Demetris Nichols, 27 (2003)

Terrence Roberts, 42 (2003)

Carmelo Anthony, 2 (2002)
*247Sports Composite wasn’t available, so I used Melo’s RSCI ranking*