Syracuse Basketball: Adrian Autry with another big get in 7-foot-4 center

Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry and his staff continue to make encouraging moves on the recruiting trail.

On Monday afternoon, Florida State big-man transfer Naheem McLeod said via Twitter that he would commit to the Orange. The 7-foot-4 sophomore center hails from Philadelphia and officially visited the Hill two weekends ago.

McLeod had said on Twitter that he was eyeing a future college decision on Tuesday, but he went ahead and committed to the ‘Cuse on Monday instead. A big welcome to Naheem.

Since entering the NCAA’s transfer portal, McLeod had reportedly heard from a variety of teams. He has said that Syracuse basketball was among the first schools to contact him after he hit the portal.

Syracuse basketball has added critical depth at the center spot ahead of next season.

Reports suggested that McLeod was planning a possible official visit to Southeastern Conference member Mississippi State, but that trip didn’t transpire.

As such, his only official visit since entering the portal was to the ‘Cuse, and that led me to believe that the Orange would likely prevail in his recruitment.

McLeod said in several interviews that his official visit to Central New York went quite well, and he has spoken highly of the Syracuse basketball coaching staff, the squad’s 2023-24 roster, and the appeal of suiting up inside the JMA Wireless Dome in front of large Orange-clad crowds.

According to ESPN statistics, during the 2022-23 term for the Seminoles, McLeod appeared in 28 games. For FSU as a sophomore, he averaged 13.1 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest, while connecting on 54.7 percent from the field.

Before coming on board at FSU, where he has competed for two campaigns, McLeod played for one season at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. Per media reports, he will have two stanzas of eligibility left.

McLeod was a three-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class out of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., near Philadelphia. That being said, ESPN rated him as four stars and the No. 25 center in this cycle.

Autry and his assistants landing McLeod provides additional depth at the center position ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, given the departure of senior Jesse Edwards to West Virginia.

The other centers expected to be on next season’s Orange roster are sophomore Mounir Hima, freshman Peter Carey, who will take a medical redshirt for the 2022-23 term, and 2023 three-star commit William Patterson, a senior at The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J.