Syracuse Basketball: 5-star priority target, No. 1 PG, headed to prep power

Syracuse basketball (Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)
Syracuse basketball (Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

Syracuse basketball priority recruiting target Elliot Cadeau plans to transfer to one of the top prep-school squads nationwide for his junior season.

The 6-foot-1 Cadeau, a five-star prospect in the 2024 class who is also ranked the No. 1 point guard across the country according to multiple recruiting services, is joining the Link Academy in Branson, Mo., for the upcoming 2022-23 stanza.

That’s according to a tweet from the Link Academy, which had a fabulous 2021-22 term that we’ll discuss in more detail in a second.

Cadeau will transfer to this team from Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, N.J. On the AAU circuit, he runs with one of the premier groups in grassroots basketball, the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball offered a scholarship to five-star Elliot Cadeau last November.

In 2021-22, the Link Academy was spectacular, going 34-2 overall and advancing to the championship game of the prestigious GEICO Nationals this past spring, where it fell in the title contest to the juggernaut Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

When MaxPreps released its final national top-20 rankings for the 2021-22 term, the Link Academy checked in at No. 3 around the country.

Not too long ago, high-school hoops analyst and scout Samad Hines published his super-early, pre-season top-25 rankings for the 2022-23 campaign, and he had the Link Academy at No. 10 nationwide.

I have no doubt that Cadeau will be a huge part of the Link Academy’s success in the next high-school season.

In addition to holding the No. 1 spot at point guard in the 2024 ratings, he’s also deemed a top-10 overall player in this class, and Cadeau could certainly make a legitimate run at the No. 1 national rating in his cycle.

Just in the past week or so, Cadeau won a ton of high praise from recruiting analysts and scouts for his performances at the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas. He’s also performed at a really strong level of late in grassroots basketball for the New Heights Lightning.

Several media reports have said that Syracuse basketball, Texas Tech and Tennessee are recruiting Cadeau the hardest at this time, but his offer list is absolutely going to expand in the near future as college coaches are set to be able to make direct contact with 2024 players on June 15.

Besides the Orange, which I am fairly confident will pick up a visit from Cadeau in the future, he has received offers from teams such as Maryland, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John’s, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, TCU, UMass, Howard and Siena.