Syracuse Basketball: Judah Mintz, from one legendary coach to another

Judah Mintz, a four-star guard who is one of six commits for Syracuse basketball in its strong 2022 class, was a stand-out in his senior year for the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

This prep-school powerhouse, a top-10 team across the country during the 2021-22 campaign, competes in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”), which is arguably the toughest high-school league nationwide, and Oak Hill Academy made the prestigious 2022 GEICO Nationals.

As a senior for the Oak Hill Academy, the 6-foot-3 Mintz was among the leading scorers in the NIBC, and he has also been praised in recent months by analysts and scouts for his defensive prowess, along with his versatile three-level scoring ability.

A native of the fertile Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Judah Mintz transferred to the Oak Hill Academy after spending his first three seasons at the Gonzaga College High School in D.C.

Four-star guard Judah Mintz committed to Syracuse basketball at the end of March.

While at the Oak Hill Academy this past season, Mintz was coached by the legendary Steve Smith, who is one of the top head coaches at the high-school level in the history of the sport.

The 2021-22 stanza was the final one for Smith at the Oak Hill Academy, as he retired after 37 terms guiding the Warriors. Smith retired with more than 1,200 career victories and nine national titles, to go along with dozens of both McDonald’s All-Americans and players who made it to the NBA, per a February article from Sports Illustrated director of basketball recruiting Jason Jordan.

Multiple former ‘Cuse stars played for Smith at the Oak Hill Academy, including Carmelo Anthony and Eric Devendorf. Now Mintz will join them as guys who played under one of the best ever in Steve Smith, as well as a Hall of Famer in Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim.

"Mintz, in a recent interview with high-school hoops analyst and scout Samad Hines, said that playing his senior year at the Oak Hill Academy “was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I was able to grow as a person and as a leader this past year. Coach Smith gave me the confidence to show abilities that most people didn’t know I had and I will always be grateful for that.”"

Hines and numerous other experts have said of late that they believe Mintz will make a sizable impact on the Hill in his freshman campaign for the ‘Cuse.

"In electing to commit to the Orange over other finalists DePaul, Wake Forest and N.C. State, Mintz said to Hines, “Syracuse presented an opportunity for me to be a lead guard and the opportunity to be a leader was something I couldn’t pass up on. Also, I have a lot of faith that coach Red (Adrian Autry) and GMac (Gerry McNamara) will help polish and add things to my game.”"

The primary composite-ranking services place Judah Mintz at around No. 45 overall in the 2022 cycle. I’ve opined for a while now that, given his senior season at the Oak Hill Academy, Mintz is undervalued in this class.

To that end, high-school basketball analyst and scout Max Feldman recently placed Judah Mintz at No. 15 nationally within the 2022 cycle in a piece on madehoops.com.