Syracuse Basketball: Former 4-star recruit, a UCLA big man, enters portal

Former Syracuse basketball target Micawber “Mac” Etienne, who is a big man at Pac-12 Conference member UCLA, has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, according to media reports, including a tweet from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.

The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to the 6-foot-10 Etienne, who grew up in New York City, in July of 2019.

As I followed his recruitment in high school, Etienne did speak positively of the Syracuse basketball program, and the ‘Cuse was one of the first schools to offer him.

He even did a virtual meeting with former Orange head coach Jim Boeheim and his staff in May of 2020, according to a tweet from Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten at that time.

Former Syracuse basketball four-star recruit Mac Etienne is in the transfer portal.

In mid-November of 2020, Etienne disclosed a top four of Illinois, Miami, Marquette and UCLA, thus eliminating the ‘Cuse from his recruiting process. Toward the end of November in 2020, he committed to the Bruins.

Etienne ended up reclassifying from the 2021 cycle into the 2020 class. In that recruiting cycle, he was deemed a top-100 national prospect and a top-15 center, according to several recruiting Web sites.

Immediately before joining UCLA, Etienne was a senior at the powerhouse Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., and he competed for the Bronx, N.Y.-based PSA Cardinals in Nike’s EYBL league on the AAU circuit. Prior to the Brewster Academy, Etienne played at the Suffield Academy in Suffield, Conn.

At UCLA, in the 2020-21 term, he appeared in 13 games. Etienne missed the 2021-22 stanza due to an injury, as he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee on Oct. 28, 2021, according to the Bruins’ athletics department Web site.

During the most recent season, in 2022-23, the redshirt freshman played in 32 games, averaging 6.8 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest, while connecting on 44.7 percent from the field.

Heading into the 2023-24 campaign, Etienne has three years of eligibility remaining. Last season, the Bruins were one of the best squads around the country. UCLA finished the 2022-23 term at 31-6 overall, reaching the Sweet 16 of this spring’s Big Dance as a No. 2 seed and getting ranked No. 8 nationwide in the final Coaches top-25 poll.