Syracuse Basketball: Priority center vaults to 5 stars, has Kentucky interest

The stock of Syracuse basketball 2024 recruiting target Yves Missi continues to skyrocket.

The 6-foot-11 center, who has performed at an ultra-high level this spring and early summer in grassroots basketball, recently attained five-star status, according to one of the primary recruiting services.

Rivals.com, not too long ago, updated its national rankings for the 2024 cycle. The recruiting Web site now has Missi as five stars and No. 12 across the country in his class.

Previously, Missi checked in at No. 39 via Rivals.com, so he jumped up 27 spots in the latest 2024 ratings refresh.

For some context, several other recruiting services place Missi at around No. 30 overall in this cycle, including the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Syracuse basketball coaches got involved with five-star big man Yves Missi early on.

While a bunch of big-time programs have offered Missi more recently amid NCAA live periods on the AAU circuit in which college coaches could watch high-school prospects in person, the Orange got into the recruiting fray for him last December by offering a scholarship.

Beyond the ‘Cuse, other offers for Missi that arrived early on in his recruitment included from UCLA, St. John’s, Rutgers, DePaul, Norfolk State and USC Upstate.

However, more recently, the last two NCAA champions – Kansas and Baylor – have offered Missi, along with UConn, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Harvard.

In mid-June, college coaches could begin initiating direct communication with 2024 players. Since that contact period opened up, numerous other teams have reached out for Missi, including blue-blood program Kentucky and Georgetown, per Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy.

According to media reports, Missi has taken recent unofficial visits to both Connecticut and St. John’s. Naturally, we’d love to see him travel to the Hill for a visit in the future.

Reports have suggested that Syracuse basketball coaches would likely start ramping up their recruitment of Missi once that June 15 deadline came and went.

Of course, given his excellent play on the court of late, and his newly designated five-star ranking from Rivals.com, the competition is expected to substantially grow as the ‘Cuse seeks to emerge as a significant contender in Missi’s recruiting process.

Known for being an excellent rim protector, rebounder and overall defensive force, yet with an expanding offensive repertoire, Missi is a rising junior at the West Nottingham Academy in Colora, Md.

On the AAU circuit, he suits up for the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals in Nike’s EYBL league.

Personally, I’m not surprised that Missi has reached the five-star level, given all of the praise doled out to him by a variety of national recruiting analysts and scouts in recent months.

It appears that he’s likely to make a serious run at a top-10 national ranking in the 2024 class when all is said and done.