Syracuse Basketball: 7-foot-2 big says ‘Cuse relationship ‘going really well’

In mid-October, a media report from a national recruiting analyst said that Syracuse basketball was in the top three for talented yet underrated 2023 big man William Patterson from New York City.

Fast-forward to the present, and the 7-foot-2, 220-pound power forward/center says in an interview that he’s eyeing a college decision in the near future, and that the Orange coaching staff continues to recruit him hard.

At this juncture, I’m not aware of any prospects in the senior class who are being recruited by the ‘Cuse, other than Patterson. He participated in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp in late August, at which time he picked up a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball.

Per recruiting services, his offer sheet includes the ‘Cuse, Oklahoma State, Rutgers and TCU, while he has received interest from Cincinnati and UCLA.

This past October, Patterson told 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London that his top three consisted of the Orange and two Big 12 Conference squads, Oklahoma State and TCU.

Syracuse basketball appears to be a serious contender for 2023 big man William Patterson.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Patterson attends The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., after suiting up last year for the Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, Md., which is a member of the loaded National Interscholastic Basketball Conference.

In a new article from London that published on January 2, Patterson said that he is hearing the most these days from the ‘Cuse, Howard, TCU, Oklahoma State and Rutgers.

"“I would say I’m getting close to a decision,” Patterson said to 247Sports. “We are midway through the season and I’m feeling pretty good. My recruitment is slowly coming to a close and I’m looking at committing in April. Throughout, it’s really been the same schools recruiting me hard as before.”"

When I wrote this column, I didn’t see any predictions from analysts on recruiting Web sites as to where they believe Patterson will end up.

Based on what he’s said about Syracuse basketball in several interviews over the past few months, I do think the Orange has an excellent shot to prevail in Patterson’s recruitment.

In his latest interview with 247Sports, Patterson had this to say about Syracuse basketball. “That relationship is going really well. Coach (Allen) Griffin asked about me a week ago. He saw me play at Manasquan and we’re still in contact.”

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

Given that the team brought in a six-member 2022 class, it’s likely that the ‘Cuse will have a somewhat small 2023 cycle, although much of that depends on the number of departures from the program after the current 2022-23 season.

Certainly, Syracuse basketball coaches will have the transfer portal available to them in the next off-season, and we’ll continue to track Patterson’s recruiting process.