Syracuse Basketball: NYC guard makes huge rankings debut, plans to visit

It was only a matter of time before sharp-shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City, a Syracuse basketball recruiting target, entered the national rankings for his class, and in a big-time way.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff got involved with the 2024 shooting guard relatively early on his recruitment, offering a scholarship to the talented and underrated prospect this past April.

The 6-foot-4 Moore, when Rivals.com updated its national ratings for the 2024 cycle not too long ago, that recruiting service placed him as three stars and No. 104 overall. Considering that he was previously unranked by Rivals.com, this is a massive leap for Moore.

That being said, I believe that he is still undervalued by all of the primary recruiting services. As Moore continues his stellar play in grassroots basketball, look for him to emerge as a four-star, top-100 player, if not higher than that.

The competition is growing for NYC shooting guard Elijah Moore, who holds a Syracuse basketball offer.

Moore is a rising junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y. As a sophomore during the 2021-22 campaign, he helped lead Cardinal Hayes to the New York state Catholic High School Athletic Association (“CHSAA”) Class AA title.

This spring and summer, Moore has received a flood of praise from national analysts and scouts for his play on the AAU circuit for the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league.

College coaches are absolutely taking notice. The contact period opened up on June 15, at which time college coaches could begin making direct contact with 2024 high-school prospects.

As such, the number of scholarship offers and interest in Moore by a range of high-major programs is expanding. He already holds around a dozen offers, from the likes of the ‘Cuse, Seton Hall, Xavier, UConn, St. John’s, Mississippi State, Bryant, Temple, Saint Peter’s, Fordham and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, according to recruiting services and Moore’s Twitter page.

Additionally, teams showing reported interest in Moore include UCLA, Oklahoma, Oregon, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Penn State and California.

Late last month, George Michalowski, the co-founder and director of recruiting at The Portal Report, said via Twitter that Moore is planning a visit to the Hill (and also to UConn).

While his recruiting process likely has a way to go, that’s a highly encouraging sign for Syracuse basketball as the Orange coaching staff looks to build its relationship with Moore.

Even though he’s still somewhat flying under the radar on a national scale, numerous experts have said that Moore is one of the best pure shooters in the 2024 class.