Syracuse Basketball: Encouraging developments with 4-star, 5-star targets

When word recently broke that 2023 four-star big man Joseph Estrella plans to officially visit Syracuse basketball in early August, that got me thinking.

The Orange coaching staff, from my personal perspective, lately seems to have some nice momentum with various recruiting targets in the 2023 and 2024 cycles.

Of course, prospects in the 2024 class likely have a long way to go in their recruiting processes. And in 2023, the ‘Cuse doesn’t yet have any verbal commitments.

But still, Syracuse basketball coaches have been out and about watching recruits in person on the AAU circuit during July live periods, which is necessary and also encouraging.

Official, or possibly unofficial, visits to the Hill are planned or in the works by several 2023 and 2024 prospects. Recent media reports note that Orange coaches are recruiting 4-stars and 5-stars hard.

For me, naturally getting some commitments is important. I also find it fascinating to wonder what ‘Cuse coaches are telling 2023 and 2024 targets as it relates to head coach Jim Boeheim and when he might retire.

There’s a lot to unpack with recent Syracuse basketball recruiting efforts.

Let’s start with the 2023 class. My sense is that the Orange is prioritizing four rising seniors at this juncture.

One is three-star combo guard Elijah Gertrude, who received a ‘Cuse offer at the beginning of July. The 6-foot-3 Gertrude is with the Albany City Rocks in Nike’s EYBL league and Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, N.J.

A fast-rising player, Gertrude for my money is a four-star, top-50 prospect in 2023. He recently said to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria on zagsblog.com that he “absolutely” plans to visit the ‘Cuse.

The 6-foot-11 Estrella, a power forward/center, is out of the New England-based Middlesex Magic in the Under Armour Association league and will spend his senior season at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H.

SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister has reported that Estrella will head to the ‘Cuse for an official visit from August 4 to August 6, which is big-time for the Orange coaching staff. Syracuse basketball offered him about a year ago.

Boeheim and his assistants have watched 2023 four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson a lot this spring and summer in grassroots basketball.

The 6-foot-4 Jackson, whose offer sheet has blown up of late, landed an Orange offer in April. I remain hopeful that the ‘Cuse will get an official visit from Jackson, who is with the South Kent School in South Kent, Conn., and the Delaware-based WE R1 in the Under Armour Association league.

Last but certainly not least, Syracuse basketball has recruited 2023 four-star shooting guard Reid Ducharme hard ever since offering him last August.

The 6-foot-6 Ducharme, who officially visited the Orange in June, is a rising senior at the Brewster Academy and suits up for the Boston Amateur Basketball Club on the Nike EYBL tour.

His unofficial top three appears to be Syracuse basketball, Penn State and Xavier, with Xavier getting a little recent analyst buzz in Ducharme’s recruitment.

Moving to 2024, the ‘Cuse has already offered nearly 10 players in this class and has reportedly shown interest in a bunch more. We’ll review a couple of top targets here.

The team’s first offer to a 2024 prospect went out last August to five-star big man Donnie Freeman. The 6-foot-9 power forward is out of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., as well as the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

Not too long ago, Freeman said via Twitter that he plans to take an official visit to Central New York in the “near future.”

Based on various recent media reports, I think the ‘Cuse has a great shot at landing visits from a pair of 2024 point guards, five-star Elliot Cadeau and fast-rising four-star Robert Wright III.

Both the 6-foot-1 Wright and the 6-foot-1 Cadeau have said in recent interviews with national recruiting analysts that Syracuse basketball is among the teams prioritizing them at this time.

Wright, offered by the Orange in March, is with Neumann-Goretti High School in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league.

Cadeau, who picked up a ‘Cuse offer last November, is ranked the No. 1 point guard nationally by multiple recruiting Web sites. He will suit up as a junior for the Link Academy in Branson, Mo., and plays for the New York City-based New Heights Lightning in Nike’s EYBL league.

As we detailed in recent articles, 2024 three-star shooting guard Elijah Moore and soaring 2024 wing Tyler Betsey have said that they are eyeing visits to Syracuse basketball at some point in the future.

The Orange offered the 6-foot-4 Moore in April. He is a rising junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and competes for the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league.

The 6-foot-8 Betsey, meanwhile, was offered by Syracuse basketball earlier this month. He is out of the St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn., and runs with the New York City-based NY Renaissance on Nike’s EYBL circuit.

Once the contact period opened up on June 15 for college coaches to have the ability to reach out directly to 2024 prospects, I came across reports suggesting the Orange may have interest in four-star point guard Juni Mobley, four-star small forward Darren Harris and small forward Jadyn Harris.

The 6-foot Mobley attends Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-6 Darren Harris is out of St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va. And the 6-foot-6 Jadyn Harris goes to Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, Va.

We’ll certainly monitor whether any of these three 2024 players end up having interest in Syracuse basketball.