Syracuse Basketball: 4-star wing who visited ‘Cuse makes college choice

As several national recruiting analysts were projecting, 2024 four-star wing Damarius Owens has picked Big East Conference member Marquette as his collegiate destination, selecting the Golden Eagles over several other teams and after having officially visited Syracuse basketball last fall.

The 6-foot-7 guard/forward, a Rochester, N.Y., native, originally had a final three of Marquette, the Orange, and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference team Virginia Tech. That being said, not long before his college decision was made, it appeared that he adjusted his top three to be Marquette, Xavier and Virginia Tech, while eliminating Syracuse basketball.

In the days leading up to his commitment announcement, a handful of analysts logged predictions in the direction of Marquette for Owens, who is a fast-rising junior at the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio.

On the AAU circuit, Owens plays for the Albany City Rocks in Nike’s EYBL league, a high-quality grassroots basketball program that has sent numerous of its alumni to the ‘Cuse.

Owens revealed his verbal commitment to Marquette on Wednesday afternoon via the 247Sports YouTube page. As always, we’re wishing Damarius nothing but future success with the Golden Eagles.

Syracuse basketball four-star target Damarius Owens is headed to the Big East.

The Orange coaching staff got involved with Owens relatively early on in his recruiting process, offering him a scholarship back in April of 2022.

Last August, Owens went on an unofficial visit to the ‘Cuse to play in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp. This past October, he took an official visit to the Hill.

Owens also made an official visit to Marquette, in January of this year, but he did not take an official visit to Virginia Tech or Xavier, to the best of my knowledge.

In electing to suit up for the Golden Eagles in the future, Owens has picked a squad that is hovering around the top 10 nationally in the current 2022-23 season.

Additionally, Marquette is a serious contender for the Big East’s regular-season title, as well as a high seed in this spring’s NCAA Tournament.

Throughout his recruitment, Owens secured offers from other squads such as Creighton, Alabama, Cincinnati, Dayton, St. Bonaventure, UMass, Siena, UMBC and Iona.

At present, ESPN rates him as four stars. Multiple other primary recruiting services rank Owens as three stars and within the top 150 of the 2024 cycle.

With regard to the Orange’s 2024 class, in late January, the ‘Cuse obtained a verbal commitment from four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City.

Syracuse basketball coaches, by extension, continue to pursue numerous other four-star and five-star prospects in the junior cycle.

Some 2024 targets to monitor include four-star guard Jalil Bethea from the Philadelphia area, five-star point guard Boogie Fland from New York state, big man Okku Federiko from Finland, four-star point guard Jalik Dunkley-Distant from Canada, four-star power forward/center Thomas Sorber from the Philadelphia region, four-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., and four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr. from California, who has the option to be a member of either the 2023 or the 2024 class.