Syracuse Basketball: Dior Johnson, J.J. Starling at the Dome will be juicy

As it pertains to former recruits for Syracuse basketball in the 2022 cycle, five-star combo guard J.J. Starling and four-star point guard Dior Johnson have been discussed perhaps more than any other targets by Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms over the last two years.

The 6-foot-4 Starling, a Central New York native, had the ‘Cuse among his five finalists before picking fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Notre Dame over Syracuse basketball, Duke, Northwestern and Stanford in the fall of 2021.

Starling, who in grassroots basketball starred for the Albany City Rocks in Nike’s EYBL league, soared up the 2022 national rankings and ended up as a five-star, top-20 overall prospect, according to some recruiting services.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-3 Johnson, a native of Saugerties, N.Y., verbally committed to the Orange in February of 2020 before de-committing toward the end of that year.

In the summer of 2021, he chose Oregon. However, last month he de-committed from the Ducks and then committed to ACC member Pittsburgh a few days later.

Grab your popcorn for Dior Johnson and J.J. Starling against Syracuse basketball on the Hill.

Earlier this week, SU Athletics noted the 20-game ACC slate for the ‘Cuse in the 2022-23 season. One home-and-home series is with traditional rival Pitt.

And Notre Dame will be a home-and-home series for Syracuse basketball in the upcoming campaign as well.

As such, sometime later this fall or winter, both Johnson and Starling will suit up inside the JMA Wireless Dome, and that’s all kinds of intriguing.

I’m curious to see what kind of reception each New York native and former Orange recruiting target receives when the Panthers and the Fighting Irish travel to Central New York.

Starling, as a senior during the 2021-22 stanza, was outstanding for the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind. Johnson, most recently, competed for the Southern California Academy in Northridge, Calif.

Interestingly enough, while Johnson went from Syracuse basketball to Oregon to Pittsburgh, an incoming freshman for the ‘Cuse is a former Pitt commit himself.

Judah Mintz, a 2022 four-star guard, had verbally committed to the Panthers but reopened his recruitment back up in November of 2021.

He would ultimately decide on Syracuse basketball this past March, committing to the Orange over other finalists DePaul, Wake Forest and N.C. State.

The 6-foot-3 Mintz, in 2021-22, was a stand-out for the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., which like the La Lumiere School is a member of the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”), a super league of prep schools and independent hoops academies.

As seniors, Mintz and Starling were two of the best players in the NIBC. Johnson, a while back, was a significant contender for the No. 1 national ranking in the 2022 class but slid back a bit. He’s still supremely talented, though.

I sincerely hope that my fellow Syracuse basketball fans aren’t overly negative toward Johnson and Starling when they play on the Hill. Yet, unfortunately, that might be wishful thinking.

In any event, when Pittsburgh and Notre Dame make their trips to the Orange, it should prove tantalizingly fun.