Syracuse Basketball: New recruit blowing up with offers, blue-blood interest

Syracuse basketball coaches only recently offered fast-rising small forward Marcus Adams Jr., and as he continues to put up big numbers on the west coast, his recruitment is really taking off.

Late last month, the Orange offered a scholarship to the 6-foot-8 Adams, who attends Nathaniel Narbonne High School in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles.

When the 2022-23 high-school season ends and the AAU circuit starts up, he will compete for the Compton, Calif.-based Compton Magic in the Adidas league.

According to a recent article from 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London, the four-star Adams is currently in the 2023 class but could reclassify to the 2024 cycle.

The ‘Cuse is still looking for its first commitment in both the 2023 and the 2024 classes.

Syracuse basketball recently entered the mix for four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr.

As we noted in a column around the time that the Orange offered Adams, he has produced some monster performances of late. Scouts, recruiting analysts and college coaches are taking notice.

Besides Syracuse basketball, Adams’ offer sheet includes Texas, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington State.

Adams told London that he now has 15 scholarship offers. What’s more, per the 247Sports report, teams showing interest in Adams include Kentucky, UCLA, Michigan, Texas Tech, USC and Oregon State, among others.

Oh, boy. I’m getting the sense that the Orange’s competition to prevail for Adams could soon get much more intense.

London wrote in his story on January 9 that Adams was slated to take an unofficial visit to Southern California “at the end of the week.” Quick update from London: “Adams will be taking an unofficial to Oregon State this Saturday source tells 247Sports. Adams visit to USC has been postponed.”

Adams said that he’s eyeing a potential commitment announcement in the next four to five months.

"He said to London, “I want to see coaches put in effort to recruit and have interest in me. I’m going to be looking for a great coaching staff, a place where I can get minutes, touches, and where I’m a part of a good program.”"

There is clearly a lot of buzz surrounding Adams’ recruiting process. I’m encouraged that Syracuse basketball coaches have offered him, but if a heavyweight squad like Kentucky ends up offering him, you know how that usually goes for the ‘Cuse.

It will also be interesting to see whether Adams stays in 2023 or moves to the 2024 class.

The current Orange roster features numerous forwards, such as sophomore Benny Williams and three freshmen in Justin Taylor, Maliq Brown and Chris Bell.

That being said, it’s virtually impossible to know what the Syracuse basketball roster will look like after the 2022-23 stanza and beyond, given the transfer portal’s explosion.

We’ll continue to monitor Adams’ recruitment moving forward.