Syracuse Basketball: 4-star priority Jalil Bethea erupts in rankings again

Syracuse basketball 2024 four-star priority recruit Jalil Bethea from the Philadelphia area continues to be one of the fastest-rising prospects around the country in his class.

The 6-foot-4 point guard/shooting guard, who is one of the top targets for Orange coaches in the junior cycle, moved from No. 72 overall to No. 32 nationwide in newly updated 2024 ratings from On3.

In its latest ratings, On3 has Jalil Bethea as four stars, No. 32 nationally, No. 9 at shooting guard and No. 1 in Pennsylvania.

When I penned this column, both of the industry-generated rankings, the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking, placed him as four stars and within the top 60 across the country in the 2024 class.

I am not a recruiting analyst nor a scout, but based on my observations in tracking Jalil Bethea’s play in recent months, I do believe that he is trending toward potential five-star status in this cycle, and some experts have echoed this sentiment.

Syracuse basketball coaches are putting on a full-court press for 2024 four-star guard Jalil Bethea.

The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Jalil Bethea in September of 2022. The following month, he took an official visit to the ‘Cuse campus. In recent weeks, amid post-season play for his high-school squad, Syracuse basketball coaches have watched Bethea twice in person.

He is a standout junior for Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pa. Jalil Bethea was named MVP of the loaded Philadelphia Catholic League for the 2022-23 term, and he also made that conference’s All-Catholic first team.

Bethea was a key contributor in Archbishop Wood making a run to the semifinals of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (“PIAA”) 6A tournament.

He has said that he is developing a strong relationship with Gerry McNamara, who was recently promoted to associate head coach on the staff of new Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry. In grassroots basketball, Bethea competes for the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league.

Throughout his recruiting process, Jalil Bethea has received more than 20 offers from a range of high-major programs, including Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Temple, UCLA, Villanova, VCU, Mississippi State and West Virginia, among others.

When another primary recruiting service, Rivals.com, refreshed its 2024 national rankings not too long ago, Jalil Bethea bolted from No. 80 overall to No. 39 nationwide.

At the time that I wrote this article, 247Sports had him at No. 64 nationally, No. 12 at shooting guard and No. 3 in Pennsylvania.