Syracuse Basketball: Predictions arrive for 4-star target Marcus Adams Jr.

Four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr. from the west coast, who has Syracuse basketball in his final three, is expected to announce his college decision on Tuesday night.

One of his suitors, leading up to Adams’ commitment announcement, is getting some buzz in the 6-foot-8 prospect’s recruitment, and that contender is UCLA.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean Marcus Adams Jr. will pick the Bruins on Tuesday evening, but I did want to pass along this information to my fellow Orange hoops recruiting enthusiasts.

When I penned this column, at least two projections had been made for UCLA in Adams’ recruitment on Rivals.com. Another prediction has also been logged in the direction of the Bruins by SBLive Sports director of recruiting Andrew Nemec.

Adams has a final three of Syracuse basketball, UCLA and 2022 national champion Kansas. He plans to reveal his college choice at 9:15 pm EST.

It doesn’t appear that Syracuse basketball will prevail for four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, however, based on my observations, I do not expect the ‘Cuse to win out for Adams, who is a standout and prolific scorer for Narbonne High School in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles.

I am getting the sense that perhaps UCLA is the favorite for him, however, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Jayhawks coaching staff is making one last hard push for Marcus Adams Jr. on Tuesday leading up to his commitment announcement.

The Bruins are Adams’ hometown college squad, so it would prove completely understandable if he ultimately opts to head to UCLA.

Adams, who runs in grassroots basketball with the Los Angeles-based Elev8 Elite, an Adidas-sponsored program, was offered a scholarship by Syracuse basketball coaches in late December.

He took an official visit to the Hill in late January. A few days later, Adams included the ‘Cuse in his top five while keeping his recruiting process open.

That led to numerous additional big-time offers, including from Kansas and UCLA. Marcus Adams Jr. did officially visit the Jayhawks not too long ago. Most recently, from March 3 to March 5, he took an official visit to UCLA; last week, Adams named his final three.

For a period of time, my sense is that Syracuse basketball had strong momentum with Adams. That being said, trying to prevail against the likes of Kansas and UCLA is no easy task, especially considering that those two teams are legit contenders to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament, while the Orange won’t even get into this spring’s Big Dance unless it captures the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Per media reports, Adams does likely have the option available to be either a member of the 2023 or the 2024 class. He is one of the hottest prospects nationwide.

When 247Sports recently updated its national rankings for the 2024 cycle, Adams made a massive leap, climbing from No. 61 overall to No. 29 across the country.