Syracuse Basketball: Orange reaches out to 7-foot-4 big in transfer portal

Syracuse basketball coaches have reportedly reached out to a big man at a fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad who recently entered the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Naheem McLeod, a 7-foot-4 sophomore center at Florida State, has heard from a bunch of schools since entering the portal, including the Orange, per media reports.

The Twitter account 24/7 High School Hoops says besides Syracuse basketball, McLeod has heard from teams including St. John’s, Villanova, Gonzaga, Arizona, Clemson, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Texas, West Virginia, Georgetown, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Butler, Minnesota, Rutgers, Ole Miss and  Temple, among others.

McLeod, who is from Philadelphia, has spent the past two seasons with the Seminoles. In the 2022-23 campaign, he appeared in 28 games, averaging 13.1 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest.

According to ESPN statistics, McLeod connected on 54.7 percent from the field in 2022-23 but just 40.6 percent from the free-throw line. Florida State struggled this past term, going 9-23 overall.

Syracuse basketball coaches have contacted FSU sophomore center Naheem McLeod, who is in the transfer portal.

Prior to joining the Seminoles, McLeod played for Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. He was a member of the 2019 recruiting class out of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Per his bio on the On3 Web site, he received scholarship offers from Oregon, Penn State, Rhode Island, La Salle and VCU. He also garnered interest from Villanova, Temple and UNLV.

In recent weeks, according to various reports, Syracuse basketball coaches appear to have made contact with various centers who are in the transfer portal.

New head coach Adrian Autry said on a recent podcast that the Orange is focused on finding a veteran big man to help replace the void left by senior center Jesse Edwards transferring to West Virginia.

A couple of days ago, recruiting analyst Jake Weingarten, the founder of Stockrisers.com, said via Twitter that Syracuse basketball coaches had reached out to Javonte Brown-Ferguson, a 7-foot power forward/center from Texas A&M who is in the transfer portal.

Brown-Ferguson, a sophomore who hails from Baltimore, has reportedly heard from other teams such as San Diego State, Oregon State, California Baptist, George Mason and Western Michigan.