Syracuse Basketball: 4-star guard Judah Mintz ranked top-5 ACC freshman

Without question, 2022 four-star combo guard Judah Mintz is poised to earn significant minutes as a freshman for Syracuse basketball during the 2022-23 season, whether that be as a starter or a top reserve off of the bench.

Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has heaped praise on him in at least one interview that I’ve come across lately, and an abundance of national recruiting analysts and scouts believe that the 6-foot-3 Mintz is a prospect well positioned to shine in his first campaign on the Hill.

Led by Duke and its ridiculously stellar 2022 recruiting class, the Atlantic Coast Conference appears to have a strong crop of newbies who will suit up for league members in the upcoming stanza.

On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw, one of the best in the business, recently put out an article where he ranked the top-10 ACC freshmen ahead of 2022-23.

Shaw’s ratings, which he acknowledges could fluctuate given the next season is still a few months away, are based on what the impact of these ACC newbies is projected to be in 2022-23.

Let’s see where Syracuse basketball guard Judah Mintz ranks among ACC freshmen.

In his piece, Shaw puts Mintz as the No. 4 freshman in the ACC, which I think is a pretty awesome placement for him. You’ll recognize some of the names ahead of Mintz in Shaw’s ratings.

At No. 1 is five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead, a Duke commit, No. 2 is five-star big man Kyle Filipowski, who is committed to the Blue Devils and was a former Orange recruiting target, and No. 3 on this list is five-star guard J.J. Starling, a Notre Dame commit.

As all of us Syracuse basketball recruiting fanatics out there know, Starling is a Central New York native who had the ‘Cuse in his final five before picking the Fighting Irish.

One-time Syracuse basketball commit Kamari Lands, a four-star small forward who ultimately ended up at Louisville, is No. 7 in the On3 rankings.

Last but not least, former Orange commit Dior Johnson, a four-star point guard who then committed to Oregon before finally landing at Pittsburgh, is part of the “other freshmen to watch” in Shaw’s story.

While I wish nothing but success to both Johnson and Lands, I do find some small morsel of satisfaction that On3 has put Judah Mintz ahead of them both.

Mintz was a stand-out as a senior for the powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., which ended the 2021-22 season as a top-10 team in many national rankings.

He is a consensus top-80 player in the 2022 cycle, according to all of the primary recruiting services, with ESPN the most bullish, slotting Mintz at No. 33 overall.

The chatter, at least these days, is that Syracuse basketball senior Joe Girard III is likely to start at shooting guard to begin the 2022-23 term. That means either Judah Mintz or senior Symir Torrence could end up the starter at point guard.

"Shaw wrote in part, “Mintz is a paint touch guard who aggressively plays at the point of attack on both ends. Word out of Syracuse is there may be more man-to-man played this season, and Mintz is the perfect player to usher in that look. With his all-out style of play, Mintz could quickly become a fan favorite.”"