Syracuse Basketball: 4-star big-man recruit explodes in national rankings

Numerous recruiting services have refreshed their 2024 national rankings lately, and Syracuse basketball target Thomas Sorber has seen his ratings absolutely skyrocket.

The four-star Sorber, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward/center from Philadelphia, received a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff in late August, around the time of the team’s annual Elite Camp.

He is a junior at Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia and suits up on the AAU circuit for the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league.

Sorber had an excellent sophomore term for Archbishop Ryan and fared quite well in grassroots basketball this spring and summer. As such, his offer list is growing and his national rankings are rising.

Syracuse basketball faces expanding competition for four-star big man Thomas Sorber.

Besides the Orange, Sorber recently picked up an offer from Penn State. His offer sheet also includes Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Georgetown, Providence, Mississippi State, Richmond, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Bryant, George Mason, Drexel and Albany.

When ESPN updated its 2024 national rankings, Sorber checked in here as four stars, No. 52 overall, No. 9 at center and No. 2 in Pennsylvania.

In the latest ratings from Rivals.com, Sorber is four stars and moved up 22 placements, from No. 111 to No. 89 across the country within his cycle.

I was a little surprised to see him as three stars per 247Sports, but this recruiting Web site does rank Sorber at No. 108 overall, No. 16 at center and No. 6 in Pennsylvania.

When I wrote this column, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the On3 Consensus had Sorber as four stars and the No. 8 center in his class.

The 247Sports Composite ranked him at No. 69 overall, while the On3 Consensus rated Sorber at No. 77 nationally in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Sorber, whose hometown is in Trenton, N.J., averaged about 16 points, 9 boards and 3.5 blocks per game as a sophomore for Archbishop Ryan, earning him a spot on the Pennsylvania All-State Class 5A first team in the 2021-22 stanza, according to media reports.

I would imagine that more and more high-major programs are going to enter his recruitment sooner rather than later. It’s encouraging to see that Syracuse basketball coaches recently offered Sorber.

Experts say that this ‘Cuse recruiting target boasts an imposing presence in the paint on both ends of the floor. He’s an effective rim protector in altering and blocking shots.

On offense, Sorber uses his strength to out-muscle defenders in the interior. He has a soft touch near the basket and continues to improve his perimeter jump shot, analysts and scouts say.