Syracuse Basketball: Adam Weitsman would like to offer NIL to Jalil Bethea

Businessman, philanthropist and top SU booster Adam Weitsman tells me that he would like to offer a name, image and likeness deal, depending on NCAA rules, to 2024 four-star guard Jalil Bethea from the Philadelphia area, who holds a Syracuse basketball offer and has officially visited the Hill.

As we noted in another recent piece, the 6-foot-4 Bethea has made one of the largest jumps nationwide in new 2024 rankings from On3. That recruiting service moved him from No. 128 overall to No. 72 overall.

Numerous recruiting Web sites rate Bethea as a four-star player and within the top 80 of the 2024 cycle. Personally, I’m extremely high on Jalil Bethea.

Adam Weitsman would like to offer NIL to four-star guard Jalil Bethea, who is a Syracuse basketball target.

Bethea is a junior at Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pa., near Philadelphia. In grassroots basketball, he runs with one of the best AAU teams across the country, the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league.

In late September, the Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Bethea. He took an official visit to the ‘Cuse about a month later, and reports at the time indicated his trip to Central New York went quite well.

Recruiting services say that Bethea holds more than 20 offers from a range of high-major programs, including Notre Dame, St. John’s, Villanova, UCLA, Seton Hall, Miami, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, VCU, Mississippi State and Temple, among others.

High-school hoops analyst Alex Karamanos said in a recent tweet that, these days, Bethea is hearing the most from Syracuse basketball, UCLA, Seton Hall, Rutgers and Temple.

Bethea is a high-level scorer who can knock down 3-pointers with precision. He’s also a good rebounder at the guard position and facilitates well for others. He has been on a huge roll of late for Archbishop Wood.

When I penned this story, On3’s recruiting prediction machine had Syracuse basketball in the lead for Bethea, although that could certainly change.

Both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Consensus rank him as a top-70 national prospect in the 2024 class, as well as a top-16 shooting guard in the junior cycle.

We’ve reported in other recent articles that Adam Weitsman would like to offer NIL deals, depending on NCAA rules, to several other top-flight high-school players. They include four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr., as well as 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore and 2024 five-star point guard Boogie Fland.

As it relates to his NIL discussions, Adam Weitsman does not discuss the Orange program or any other college team with high-school prospects and their families, because any NIL deals that Weitsman makes can’t be used as a form of inducement (“pay-for-play”) for high-school players to commit to a specific college or university.

Adam Weitsman has told me that his NIL opportunities for high-school players and current SU student-athletes will center on non-profit, civic and philanthropic efforts in the 315 and 607 area codes, rather than the marketing of his various businesses.

Regarding his potential NIL discussions with all student-athletes, these players can live anywhere they want and attend any school that they choose.

Weitsman also says that no matter what school players end up attending, he is interested in NIL discussions with them, because they are the kinds of people he would like to represent his charitable endeavors.