Syracuse Basketball: Blue-bloods are pursuing prolific-scoring 4-star recruit

Four-star Jerry Easter II, a Syracuse basketball recruiting target, has been putting forth a tremendous sophomore campaign for his high-school team in Ohio after earning All-America honors as a freshman.

The 6-foot-4 guard, who I believe is a five-star player, has a massive offer sheet despite his recruiting process likely having a way to go.

The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to the prolific scorer last July, and it was the first offer doled out by the ‘Cuse in the 2025 cycle.

Easter has around two-dozen offers from a range of high-major programs at this juncture in his recruitment, and multiple blue-blood programs are reportedly showing interest in him.

In various interviews that I’ve come across since Syracuse basketball officially entered his recruitment, I’ve seen Easter speak highly of the Orange program, although competition to prevail for him is intense, to say the least.

Syracuse basketball seems to be prioritizing 2025 four-star guard Jerry Easter II.

In a recent post on Twitter, the terrific 24/7 High School Hoops said that Kentucky, Marquette, Kansas and St. John’s have been reaching out the most to Easter, who is a sophomore at the Emmanuel Christian School in Toledo, Ohio.

Hey, any time that the Jayhawks and the Wildcats are in the mix, that presents a huge challenge for Syracuse basketball. But in Easter’s case, there are many other suitors pursuing him.

To that end, his offer sheet presently includes Illinois, Southern California, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Mike Hopkins-led Washington, UCLA, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Arizona State, Missouri, New Mexico State, Bowling Green, Morgan State, Northern Illinois, Oakland, Toledo and Cleveland State.

During the 2022-23 stanza, Easter has produced so many big-time performances for Emmanuel Christian, including a quadruple-double in one game and recent outbursts of 51 points, 37 points and 32 points, among others.

In mid-February, Emmanuel Christian Athletics said in a tweet that Easter had been named the District 7 Division III player of the year, as well as the Toledo Area Athletic Conference (“TAAC”) player of the year.

https://twitter.com/ecsportstoledo/status/1626436552820678657?cxt=HHwWgoCzya7boZItAAAA

After the conclusion of the 2022-23 term, I would imagine that Easter will be up for additional honors in Ohio and on a national scale.

At the end of January, college basketball insider Adam Zagoria published a story about potential upcoming campus visits for Easter, and the Orange was mentioned as a possible trip for him.

The majority of primary recruiting services rate Easter as a top-50 national prospect in the sophomore cycle, as well as a top-10 point guard/shooting guard in this class.

Obviously, Syracuse basketball coaches have their work cut out for them in trying to land a commitment from Easter down the line. A key step would be to secure a visit from him at some point in the future.