Syracuse Basketball: Former 4-star Canadian recruit enters transfer portal

Elijah Fisher, a former Syracuse basketball recruiting target, may be headed to another college squad after spending his freshman season in the Big 12 Conference.

The 6-foot-7 wing out of Texas Tech has entered into the NCAA’s transfer portal, according to On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw.

Fisher, a highly coveted and ranked prospect from Canada, received a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff in July of 2020. Throughout his recruitment, he landed more than 20 high-major offers.

Those offers included from blue-blood programs Kansas (the 2022 national champion) and Kentucky, as well as 2021 national champion Baylor. But ultimately, Fisher committed to Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders struggled during the 2022-23 season, posting a sub-par 16-16 overall record. On March 8, the Texas Tech athletics department announced that head coach Mark Adams was stepping down, so it’s not a surprise to me that Fisher may want to move on from the  Red Raiders.

We’ll see if Syracuse basketball shows interest in former target Elijah Fisher.

Fisher was a standout at the Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario. He was originally part of the 2023 class. After the Orange offered him and I started tracking his recruiting process, I did come across comments from several national analysts and scouts saying that Fisher could potentially make a run at the No. 1 overall ranking in that cycle.

However, when Fisher committed to Texas Tech, he also ended up reclassifying into the 2022 cycle.

The bevy of recruiting services that rate Canadian players placed him within the top 60 of the 2022 class. Several recruiting services even had Fisher within the top 35 overall of this cycle.

In his freshman stanza with the Red Raiders, Fisher wasn’t a significant contributor. Per ESPN statistics, in 2022-23, he averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game, while connecting on 46.1 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 58.6 percent from the free-throw line.

As far as the Syracuse basketball roster is concerned so far this off-season, senior guard Symir Torrence and redshirt junior forward John Bol Ajak have entered the transfer portal.

Freshman point guard Judah Mintz has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility. Not too long ago, Central New York native J.J. Starling said he would transfer from Notre Dame to the Orange.

The ‘Cuse does have several wings/forwards on its roster, including freshman Quadir Copeland (point guard/small forward), freshman Justin Taylor (shooting guard/small forward), freshman Chris Bell (small forward), sophomore Benny Williams (forward) and freshman Maliq Brown (forward).

I’ll certainly monitor whether Syracuse basketball coaches end up pursuing Elijah Fisher.