Syracuse Basketball: Analyst details 2024 targets likeliest to commit to SU

In late January, Syracuse basketball picked up its first verbal commitment in the 2024 cycle, and the Orange continues to pursue numerous other four-star and five-star targets in the junior class.

Kicking things off as far as commitments go in this cycle for the ‘Cuse was four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., who chose the Orange over other finalists Alabama, Arkansas, Miami and Oklahoma State.

But which other 2024 prospects does Syracuse basketball have the best shot at landing? Well, as I always say, the recruiting world is fluid and can rapidly change for top-flight high-school players.

That being said, there are a handful of guys in the junior class who we’re going to take a look at here, and a national recruiting analyst has also weighed in on this topic.

Syracuse basketball is in the running for numerous highly ranked 2024 prospects.

A few days ago, via Twitter, I asked recruiting experts at Rivals.com which other 2024 players may end up joining Moore in this cycle for the Orange.

Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy was kind enough to respond, and he responded with three names. They are four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr., five-star point guard Boogie Fland and four-star Jalil Bethea, who is described as a point guard or a shooting guard (i.e., a combo guard).

Adams, offered a scholarship by the ‘Cuse last December, attends Narbonne High School in Los Angeles. He recently took an official visit to the Hill, and his AAU coach told me last week that Syracuse basketball is a contender for him.

That being said, Adams’ recruitment has blown up lately, and his AAU coach has said that he is likely to take other official visits in the near future. Adams has the option to be a member of either the 2023 or the 2024 cycle.

Fland, a top-10 national prospect and the No. 1 point guard in 2024 according to some recruiting Web sites, is out of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y.

"He was offered by the Orange in January and has a slew of high-major suitors. Cassidy wrote, “Syracuse is making a serious push for five-star Boogie Fland. And while that battle will be contested, to say the least, the Orange are trying like hell to get him on campus for a visit. If that happens, things might become serious.”"

The ‘Cuse offered Bethea, from Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pa., last September. The following month, he went on an official visit to the Orange campus.

Bethea has said in several recent interviews that Syracuse basketball is recruiting him hard. Cassidy summed it up this way: “If I had to rank them in order of likelihood of landing at Syracuse, I’d go Adams, Bethea, Fland.”

I definitely would put Fland, at No. 3, as in the least likely for the ‘Cuse. As far as No. 1 and No. 2, I could make a case for Adams or Bethea to go in either spot. I think that Syracuse basketball has a realistic shot at both Adams and Bethea.

Moving the conversation on this subject forward a bit more, there are several other 2024 players to monitor as well.

One is the recently offered Okku Federiko, a forward out of the Omnia Basketball Academy in Espoo, Finland.

Also, Syracuse basketball is in the top three, along with Marquette and Virginia Tech, for four-star wing Damarius Owens, a Rochester, N.Y., native who has officially visited Central New York.

Per On3 national analyst Joe Tipton, Owens is expected to announce his collegiate destination this Wednesday, Feb. 15. He attends the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio.

This past October, the Orange offered four-star point guard Jalik Dunkley-Distant, another Canadian prospect who goes to Orangeville Prep in Mono, Ontario.

Last but not least are two 2024 four-star big men, power forward/center Thomas Sorber from Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia and power forward Donnie Freeman with St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C.

Both Sorber and Freeman, in the past, have taken unofficial visits to Syracuse basketball to play in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp. Sorber participated in August of 2022, while Freeman competed in August of 2021.