Syracuse Basketball: 5-star, 4-star priority targets to battle in loaded events

The 2022-23 season for top-flight high schools, prep teams and independent basketball academies around the country is just getting underway, and a handful of Syracuse basketball recruiting targets are expected to participate in some of the premier events and showcases nationwide over the next few months.

Jordan Divens, the national basketball editor for MaxPreps, recently published an awesome, detailed piece where he looked at nearly 100 events slated to transpire in the upcoming months.

We’ll examine match-ups here that involve a range of four-star and five-star Orange targets, and they’re playing this season for some of the best teams out there in 2022-23, at least as far as preseason rankings were concerned.

Let’s review what intriguing tournaments will include Syracuse basketball recruits.

The powerhouse Link Academy in Branson, Mo., a top-five group so far in 2022-23, is a squad to monitor. Its roster features 2024 five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau, the nation’s top player at his position who recently put the ‘Cuse in his top six, along with Louisville, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas.

Per Divens, the Link Academy will play in the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, which runs from November 25 to November 26 in Duncanville, Texas. At the Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, Ky., from December 1 to December 3, the Link Academy will be among the participants.

One of the premier events in high-school hoops is the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., which will run from December 16 to December 21. The Link Academy is a headliner here.

The following month, the Link Academy will play at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., from January 12 to January 14, as well as the Quincy Shootout in Quincy, Ill., from January 20 to January 21.

The roster at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, N.Y., includes 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, who was recently offered by Syracuse basketball and is the son of Orange legend Carmelo Anthony.

Christ the King, deemed a preseason top-20 group by several national pundits, will head over to London from December 2 to December 3 to play in the Hoophall International.

Additionally, Christ the King is part of the field at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in mid-January. I’d love to see Kiyan Anthony and Christ the King take on the Link Academy and Cadeau.

Another New York City squad with ‘Cuse connections is the top-20 Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y.

This past April, the Orange offered scholarships to a pair of Cardinal Hayes stars, 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson and 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore, who took an official visit to the Hill last month.

Cardinal Hayes, similar to the Link Academy, will compete in the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in the near future. From December 8 to December 10, Cardinal Hayes will suit up at the Hoophall West in Phoenix.

Arguably the premier showcase in the 2022-23 stanza, per high-school hoops experts, is the Spalding Hoophall Classic, which runs from January 12 to January 16 in Springfield, Mass.

In this event, Cardinal Hayes is scheduled to play another terrific team, the Imhotep Institute Charter High School in Philadelphia, which is led by 2023 five-star wing Justin Edwards, who held a Syracuse basketball offer and is committed to Kentucky.

Two other 2024 five-star prospects who have offers from the Orange are center Yves Missi out of Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., and wing Vyctorius Miller with the AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz.

On November 25 and November 26, the Holiday Hoopsgiving will transpire in Atlanta, and Prolific Prep is part of this loaded field.

AZ Compass Prep, a serious contender for the country’s No. 1 ranking, will square off with the juggernaut Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., as part of the Frank Jackson National Hoopfest in Pleasant Grove, Utah. This tournament was scheduled to run from November 22 to November 23.

On December 1 to December 3, the Air Capital Hoopfest will occur in Wichita, Kan. AZ Compass Prep will be one of the participants.

AZ Compass Prep will also play in the Hoophall West from December 8 to December 10, as well as the Hoophall South in Bentonville, Ark., from December 15 to December 17.

There is a stellar field, including AZ Compass Prep, at the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, on January 13 to January 16.

At the previously mentioned Spalding Hoophall Classic from January 12 to January 16, AZ Compass Prep will go toe to toe with another perennial national-title contender, the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.