Syracuse Basketball: 4-star priority big-man recruit skyrockets into rankings

It was only a matter of time before Syracuse basketball 2023 recruiting target Joseph Estrella entered the national rankings in his class, and in a big-time way.

The 6-foot-11 power forward/center, who was offered by Orange coaches last August at the team’s annual Elite Camp, put forth a stellar junior season for his high-school squad in Maine.

More recently, during NCAA live periods last month on the AAU circuit in which ‘Cuse coaches and coaches from many other college groups watched Estrella compete in person, he proved to be one of the top all-around performers in these grassroots-basketball competitions.

As such, when primary recruiting service 247Sports published an updated list of its top-150 players in the 2023 cycle, Estrella vaulted from unranked into the top-70 nationally. That’s a mighty huge jump.

Syracuse basketball faces a massive challenge trying to land Joseph Estrella.

For now, Estrella is rated as four stars and No. 66 across the country by 247Sports, along with No. 10 at center and No. 3 in Maine. It wouldn’t surprise one iota if he ultimately enters the top 50 in the 2023 class.

When I penned this column, Estrella checked in as three stars and at No. 163 overall via the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, as well as No. 21 at center and No. 5 in Maine.

As other recruiting services, such as ESPN, On3 and Rivals.com, refresh their national ratings for 2023, Estrella is widely expected to become ranked by these media outlets as well. When that occurs, his composite ratings will also climb higher.

"Dushawn London, a national analyst for 247Sports, wrote in part about this Syracuse basketball recruit, “At 6-foot-11 Estrella has length, touch, and provides floor spacing with his three-point shooting. During the April live periods Estrella drew large crowds from various head coaches as his recruitment continues to expand.”"

Estrella has said in several recent interviews that the ‘Cuse is recruiting him hard, however, the competition continues to intensify.

To date, he has amassed more than 20 scholarship offers from teams such as Creighton, UConn, Iona, Miami, UMass, Illinois, Missouri, Xavier, California, Maryland, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Iowa, Providence, Tennessee, Harvard, Maine, Penn State and Marquette.

Blue-blood programs Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Villanova, among others, are also reportedly showing interest in Estrella, who has made plans to take official visits to Marquette and Tennessee in June, per 247Sports.

On the AAU circuit, Estrella plays for the New England-based Middlesex Magic in the Under Armour Association league. He was sensational for South Portland High School in South Portland, Maine, during the 2021-22 campaign and will compete for the powerhouse Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., in his senior year.

We’ll continue to track Estrella’s recruiting process. My fingers are crossed that he’ll decide to travel to the Hill for an official visit down the line.