Syracuse Basketball: 4-star guard sets date, SU ‘very much alive’ – analyst

Syracuse basketball 2023 four-star priority target Mike Williams from Maryland recently wrapped up his campus visits, and the fast-rising guard seems to be nearing a decision.

According to a tweet from recruiting analyst/scout Colby Giacubeno, the 6-foot-4 Williams plans to make his commitment announcement on November 6.

Not too long ago, the top-100 Williams took an official visit to the Hill. In recent weeks, dating back to early September, he has also made official visits to Clemson, DePaul, Wake Forest and, most recently, LSU.

Williams, a senior at the Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, Md., also went on an unofficial visit to VCU. The Orange coaching staff offered him at the end of July.

While Williams holds around 20 scholarship offers, I would assume he’s likely to pick one of the schools that he recently visited. As of Tuesday afternoon, I hadn’t seen any analyst predictions about Williams’ recruitment on the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com or the On3 Web site.

An expert weighs in on Syracuse basketball recruit Mike Williams, a four-star guard.

In a recent piece, Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy said that the ‘Cuse is “very much alive” with Williams, who over the summer helped lead the Baltimore-based Team Thrill to the 17U division title on the Under Armour Association circuit.

Comments from Cassidy, and other analysts in recent weeks, suggest to me that perhaps the three leading “favorites” for Williams, if you can call them that, are Syracuse basketball, LSU and Clemson.

Cassidy wrote that Williams could look to make a list cut, although with his commitment announcement now in the near future, we’ll have to see if a trimming of contenders actually happens.

Either way, Cassidy added that for the Orange and its fan base, “there’s reason to be cautiously hopeful at the very least.”

Williams is rated as four stars and just inside the top 100, according to 247Sports. His stock has really blown up in recent months, following a stretch of terrific performances in grassroots basketball.

"In mid-October, Williams said of Syracuse basketball to 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London, “They’re pretty young but talking with coach they plan on playing me with the other young guys on the team. They’re also losing another fifth year senior so they need another guard to come in. If I were to go there, I can go in and play as a freshman.”"

While the ‘Cuse coaching staff has offered more than 20 players in the 2023 cycle, the Orange is still searching for its first commitment in this class.

We’ll continue to monitor Williams’ recruitment leading up to his commitment unveiling next month.