Syracuse Basketball: Recruiting service has ‘Cuse in lead for 4-star guard

Elijah Moore from New York City, a lethal four-star shooting guard in the 2024 class, has Syracuse basketball among his five finalists and could make a college decision in the near future.

A few days ago, the 6-foot-4 Moore disclosed a top five of the Orange, Alabama, Arkansas, Miami and Oklahoma State.

When I penned this column on Saturday afternoon, I had yet to see any predictions from national analysts and other recruiting insiders for Moore on the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com or the On3 Web site.

However, On3’s recruiting prediction machine does presently have Syracuse basketball with a slight lead over Oklahoma State in the No. 1 spot for Moore. I’d like to caution here that this could absolutely change in the coming weeks.

Syracuse basketball seems to be in a good spot to potentially land four-star guard Elijah Moore.

Moore has received around 20 offers throughout his recruiting process. He was offered a scholarship by the Orange in April of 2022. Last August, Moore took an unofficial visit to the ‘Cuse to play in the team’s annual Elite Camp.

This past October, he officially visited the Hill, and that trip went smashingly well. He has also officially visited Oklahoma State and is looking at a possible official visit to Alabama later on in January, according to a recent article from On3 national analyst Joe Tipton.

I am not a recruiting analyst, nor am I in Moore’s inner circle. That being said, it appears logical that Syracuse basketball and Oklahoma State are presently No. 1 and No. 2 for him, according to On3’s recruiting prediction machine.

Additionally, if he takes an official visit to Alabama, analyst buzz for Moore could potentially shift to the Crimson Tide. We’ll have to see how this all pans out.

Moore is a standout junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y. On the AAU circuit, he runs with the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league. Businessman and top SU booster Adam Weitsman told me earlier this week that Moore is currently his No. 1 target for name, image and likeness opportunities in the 2024 cycle.

All five of his finalists, in my opinion, can make compelling cases to entice Moore to their respective schools. For the Orange, Syracuse basketball coaches have prioritized him for a while now, he’s from New York state, and he’s visited the ‘Cuse twice.

Miami reached the Elite Eight a season ago and has one of the country’s most underrated head coaches in Jim Larrañaga. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 16 in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, and Miami is a serious contender to win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season crown.

Oklahoma State, as I already mentioned, has hosted Moore on an official visit. While the Cowboys aren’t having a stellar 2022-23 campaign to date, two former Oklahoma State stars in recent years, guards Cade Cunningham and Marcus Smart, were NBA Draft lottery picks.

Cunningham was selected No. 1 overall in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, while Smart was picked No. 6 overall in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

If Moore does take an official visit to Alabama, my own personal take is that his recruitment could boil down to the Orange versus the Crimson Tide. Former Buffalo boss Nate Oats is the head coach at Alabama, a squad that is ranked No. 4 in the most recent AP top-25 poll.

Alabama has fared quite well on the recruiting trail of late, and the Crimson Tide is a significant contender to not only win the Southeastern Conference, but also to go deep in this spring’s March Madness.

Over at Arkansas, which is rated No. 15 in the AP top-25 poll, head coach Eric Musselman is doing a tremendous job. The Razorbacks have advanced to the Elite Eight of the past two NCAA Tournaments. Like Alabama, Arkansas is also crushing things lately with its recruiting efforts.

We’ll obviously keep a close eye on Moore’s recruitment in the coming weeks. Syracuse basketball remains on the hunt for its first commitment in the junior class, and Moore, if he were to commit to the ‘Cuse, would be a huge jump-start to the Orange’s 2024 cycle.