Syracuse Basketball: Fast-rising 4-star guard from NYC is high on Orange

Syracuse basketball (Syndication: Westchester County Journal News)
Syracuse basketball (Syndication: Westchester County Journal News)

Last month, one of the top shooters and all-around guards in the 2024 class, Elijah Moore, took an official visit to Syracuse basketball after taking an unofficial visit to the Hill in late August to participate in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp.

The 6-foot-4 Moore, a fast-rising national prospect in the junior cycle, said in interviews that his official visit to the ‘Cuse went quite well. He continues to have a high interest in the Orange, and Moore has said that he’s been forming strong relationships with the entire Syracuse basketball coaching staff, including head coach Jim Boeheim.

The ‘Cuse offered Moore a scholarship back in April, and he put forth a stellar AAU circuit in the spring and summer months for the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league.

That, in turn, has helped fuel a massive national rankings boost for Moore. And with college coaches being able to initiate direct contact with 2024 players beginning this past June 15, Moore has seen his offer sheet keep on growing.

Syracuse basketball has made four-star guard Elijah Moore a priority in the 2024 class.

Per an article from SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, Moore was planning to take an official visit to Oklahoma State on November 9.

His list of suitors is impressive and expanding. Per his Twitter page and recruiting services, some of Moore’s more recent offers are from fellow Atlantic Coast Conference members Miami and Notre Dame, as well as Oklahoma.

Additionally, his offer sheet includes Oklahoma State, Alabama, California, Seton Hall, Xavier, Connecticut, St. John’s, VCU, Mississippi State, Bryant, Temple, Saint Peter’s, Columbia, Fordham, Saint Joseph’s and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

I’ve also seen reports suggesting that strong high-major programs such as Villanova and Oregon have been showing interest in Moore, who is a junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y.

Moore is expected to be a key piece for a stellar Cardinal Hayes group in the 2022-23 season, with experts prognosticating that Cardinal Hayes should seriously contend for a top-25 national rating in the campaign that is just getting underway.

In the spring, when Syracuse basketball first offered Moore, he seemed to be flying a bit under the radar as far as his offer sheet and national rankings were concerned.

Not any longer. Virtually all of the primary recruiting services rate him as a four-star prospect in 2024.

When I penned this column, Moore was ranked No. 67 overall from On3, No. 68 via Rivals.com, No. 73 per 247Sports, No. 78 per the industry-generated On3 Consensus, and No. 100 according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

Most recruiting Web sites also deem Moore a top-20 shooting guard around the country in his class. Candidly, I still think that he’s undervalued in this cycle.

As Moore presumably shines for Cardinal Hayes and in grassroots basketball, I could see him vaulting into the top 50 in this class.

In a recent article by Rivals.com national analyst Travis Graf, at the Orange’s Elite Camp, Boeheim “said he really liked my game and would do anything to get me there,” Moore said.

Per McAllister, Moore is eyeing a possible decision on his future college team after the 2022-23 stanza concludes.

"Following his official visit to Central New York, Moore said in part to McAllister that Syracuse basketball is “definitely a school that I am very interested in without a doubt. It helps though. I was already really cool with the coaches but this definitely brought us closer.”"