Syracuse Basketball: Analyst details importance for SU to land 4-star guard

A national recruiting analyst has weighed in on the importance of Syracuse basketball securing a commitment from 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City.

The 6-foot-4 Moore, a top-80 national prospect and a top-20 shooting guard in his class, is down to five finalists, and they are the Orange, Oklahoma State, Alabama, Arkansas and Miami.

Moore will announce his college decision at 12 pm EST on Saturday, Jan. 28. As we noted in another column earlier this week, numerous projections have arrived in the direction of Syracuse basketball for Moore.

Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy recently published a piece where he details must-get 2024 prospects for a variety of college squads, and he discussed the critical nature of the ‘Cuse picking up a verbal commitment from Moore this Saturday.

Syracuse basketball will soon know whether it has prevailed for four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore.

We’ve written many articles in recent months about Orange coaches having offered more than 20 scholarships to players in the 2023 cycle, with no commitments as of yet for Syracuse basketball.

Cassidy touches on that topic, saying, “It’s been a while since the Orange landed a high school recruit. And while the 2023 class was always going to be small by design, the fact that they don’t have a single prospect in the fold on that front makes the 2024 class vital.”

"The Rivals.com national analyst adds, “The fact that Moore is one of the truly elite outside shooters in the 2024 class makes him important on its own, but the fact that he could act as a recruiting slump-buster of sorts for Syracuse makes the situation even more pressing.”"

I agree with Cassidy here. This past off-season, the ‘Cuse brought in a six-member 2022 class along with a young big-man transfer, so it has been assumed that Syracuse basketball wouldn’t have a large 2023 cycle.

However, the optics of not landing a single commitment to date in the senior class aren’t great. Throw in the uncertainty of when head coach Jim Boeheim will retire, and who will replace him, and to me, Syracuse basketball could really use a pledge in the 2024 cycle sooner rather than later to jump-start that Orange class.

To that end, I think that the ‘Cuse has an excellent shot at hearing its name called when Moore announces his college decision this Saturday afternoon.

One of the best pure shooters in the junior class, Moore is a standout at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and he runs with the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league on the AAU circuit.

Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to him in April of 2022. He took an unofficial visit to the Orange last August to compete in the team’s annual Elite Camp. Last October, Moore made an official visit to the Hill, and his only other official visit was to Oklahoma State.

What’s more, this past Tuesday night, when the ‘Cuse lost to North Carolina at home by four points, Moore was a courtside guest of businessman, philanthropist and top SU booster Adam Weitsman. Weitsman, as I first reported, has offered a major name, image and likeness deal to Moore.

The recruiting processes of top-flight prospects can ebb and flow – and change rather quickly. However, my personal sense is that Syracuse basketball is the favorite for Moore at this juncture. Should he pledge to the Orange, Moore would be a tremendous first commitment for the ‘Cuse in its 2024 class.