Syracuse Basketball: Analyst ranks contenders for 4-star, puts SU at No. 1

Syracuse basketball four-star priority recruiting target Marcus Adams Jr., one of the leading scorers nationwide during the 2022-23 season, is scheduled to begin post-season play for his Los Angeles high school on Friday night.

The 6-foot-8 Adams, one of the hottest prospects across the country regardless of class designation, recently disclosed a top five of the Orange, Texas, UCLA, Oregon and Mississippi State.

That being said, Adams did say in a recent tweet that his recruitment remains open, and in recent days, he has landed new scholarship offers from teams such as 2022 national champion Kansas, Southern California, Arkansas and Indiana. The ‘Cuse coaching staff offered him in late December, and Adams recently took an official visit to the Hill.

https://twitter.com/marcusadams21/status/1623111756058066944?cxt=HHwWgIDQqdziuYYtAAAA

Adams, who has the option available to be a member of either the 2023 or the 2024 recruiting cycle, is a standout for Narbonne High School in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles. We’ll of course continue to track his recruiting process as well as how he and Narbonne fare in the L.A. City Section Open Division playoffs.

A recruiting expert has chimed in on the contenders for Syracuse basketball four-star target Marcus Adams Jr.

Earlier this week, Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy, one of the best in the business, ranked the contenders in Adams’ top five in order of how likely each suitor is to land a pledge from him. In all fairness, with Adams saying his recruitment remains open and continuing to pick up new scholarship offers, the buzz surrounding his finalists could absolutely ebb and flow.

But in any event, Cassidy did put the ‘Cuse at No. 1, followed by UCLA, Texas, Mississippi State and Oregon.

For what it’s worth, Adams’ AAU coach did tell me earlier this week that he believes Adams’ “final decision will come down to Syracuse and UCLA,” but that article also ran before the offers from Kansas and other big-time programs arrived. We’ll have to see how this all pans out.

Personally, I do think that Syracuse basketball is one of the favorites for Adams, who has competed in grassroots basketball for the Los Angeles-based Elev8 Elite, an Adidas-sponsored program led by head coach Cory DeSanti.

"Here’s what Cassidy wrote about the ‘Cuse and Adams in his recent story. “The Orange hosted Adams for his most recent visit – the only official he’s taken – and things seem to have gone swimmingly during said trip. The fact that the 6-foot-8 forward trimmed his list in the immediate aftermath bodes well for Syracuse, which recently added an elite shooter in the form of Elijah Moore to its 2024 class and seem to be picking up momentum on the recruiting trail after a lull. … Syracuse sees Adams as a possible one-and-done type player and has certainly piqued his interest with that pitch. There’s time for things to change, sure, but head coach Jim Boeheim should like where he stands at this juncture. The possibility of a reclassification into 2023 also exists, and that would work well for the Orange, which are still without a signee in that class.”"

At present, Adams is a four-star, top-65 player in the 2024 cycle per 247Sports, but several of the primary recruiting services don’t currently have him included in their national rankings. Given how he’s played in 2022-23, I’ve seen multiple national recruiting analysts and scouts opine lately that Adams is due for a huge ratings bump in the near future.

https://twitter.com/marcusadams21/status/1623459262918950913

As I first reported in late January, Adams has received a sizable name, image and likeness offer from businessman, philanthropist and top SU booster Adam Weitsman. Weitsman has told me that his NIL offer to Adams is for the 2023 class.