Syracuse basketball prioritizing 4-star guard, a fast-rising top-25 prospect

Syracuse basketball coaches are prioritizing 2025 four-star guard Darius Adams from New Jersey, who is ranked in the top 25 of his class by multiple recruiting services, according to several recent media reports.

The 6-foot-3 Adams, characterized as a point guard, a shooting guard or a combo guard on recruiting Web sites, took an unofficial visit to the Orange in late August, when he participated in the team’s Elite Camp.

At the camp, ‘Cuse coaches offered a scholarship to Adams. Earlier this year, we noted in a column how Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is high on Adams, a sophomore at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, N.J.

I’ve come across numerous comments from national analysts lately that speak to Adams playing quite well during the most recent AAU circuit. In grassroots basketball, he is a member of the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals in Nike’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball is recruiting four-star guard Darius Adams hard.

Besides the Orange, Adams holds early scholarship offers from teams including Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s and Fordham. Per reports, others showing interest in him include Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland.

Adams has taken an unofficial visit to UVA and also made a trip to North Carolina. His sister plays for the Tar Heels, according to an article from Rivals.com national analyst Travis Graf.

While it’s encouraging that the ‘Cuse appears to be prioritizing Adams, his recruiting process likely has a long way to go. On June 15 of next year, college coaches will be able to start initiating direct communication with 2025 players.

I have no doubt that Adams’ recruitment is going to blow up. When I wrote this column, 247Sports rated him as the No. 23 prospect in the 2025 cycle, and the No. 3 combo guard.

Rivals.com places him at No. 25 overall. The industry-generated On3Consensus ranks Adams at No. 28 nationally and No. 9 at shooting guard, while On3 has him at No. 39 across the country in this class.

Additionally, multiple recruiting services presently situate Adams as the No. 1 player in New Jersey within the 2025 cycle.

Terrance “Munch” Williams, the executive director of the PSA Cardinals, recently discussed Adams in an interview with analyst Zach Smart on rutgers.rivals.com.

"Williams said in part of Adams, “His development on both ends of the court have taken a huge leap from his ability to get stronger in the past six months. He has gone from a killer with his actions to flat out stud in every sense of the word. With his off the court discipline, he is positioning himself to play the game of basketball at its highest level.”"

As we’ve noted in recent weeks, Syracuse basketball coaches have offered a handful of top-flight prospects in the 2025 class, including Adams and four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony.

The 6-foot-3 Anthony, a sophomore at Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, N.Y., is the son of Orange legend and long-time NBA star Carmelo Anthony.