Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Elijah Moore, 4-star priority target soar in AAU

Syracuse basketball 2024 four-star commit Elijah Moore and Orange 2024 four-star priority recruit Jalil Bethea took part in AAU action this past weekend, and they both earned high praise from national analysts and scouts for their play.

It’s proven a stellar spring so far in grassroots basketball for the 6-foot-4 Moore, a talented shooting guard, and the 6-foot-4 Bethea, who plays both guard positions and likely will be able to suit up on the wing at small forward in college.

Elijah Moore, who verbally committed to the ‘Cuse in late January, is a member of the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas 3SSB league. Last weekend, the Wiz Kids competed at the Southern Jam Fest in Virginia Beach, Va., and Hampton, Va.

Bethea, meanwhile, is one of the top targets for Syracuse basketball coaches in the junior class. He is a standout for the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league. This past weekend, Team Final suited up versus other Philadelphia AAU squads at the Battle of the Bell from Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School.

Syracuse basketball four-star commit Elijah Moore, four-star recruit Jalil Bethea were impressive in AAU.

I haven’t seen box scores from the Southern Jam Fest, but I did see multiple tweets that spoke to Elijah Moore shooting the ball quite well at this event. ELITE High School Scouting named him one of its Saturday evening standouts at the Southern Jam Fest.

I readily acknowledge that I’m not a scout, not a recruiting analyst, and I have Orange-colored glasses on when I continually repeat this, but I’ll say it again. Elijah Moore, based on his play in the 2022-23 season for Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx as well as his performances this spring for the Wiz Kids, should be a consensus four-star, top-50 national prospect in his class, if not higher than that.

Several recruiting services rate him as a top-75 overall player and a top-20 shooting guard in 2024, but some recruiting Web sites don’t even have Elijah Moore within their national rankings for this cycle. That’s comical to me.

At the Battle of the Bell, Team Final went 2-0, and Bethea was terrific. According to an article on the fabulous Web site, cityofbasketballlove.com, Bethea tallied 18 points in one game and 24 points in a second contest.

The article on cityofbasketballlove.com noted that Bethea hit a few long-range shots in the first encounter, but in the second one, he scored more by driving to the hoop and getting to the free-throw line after defenders fouled him.

Syracuse basketball coaches continue to recruit Bethea hard. He was offered a scholarship by the ‘Cuse in September of 2022 and made an official visit to the Hill the following month. Dating back to March, Orange coaches have visited Bethea, watched him twice in post-season play for Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster, Pa., and been in attendance for him during NCAA live periods in late April.

Bethea’s offer sheet has ballooned, with some of his newer offers coming from 2023 national champion UConn, Georgia Tech, LSU, Xavier, 2022 national champ Kansas, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Georgetown.

The Syracuse basketball coaching staff also watched Elijah Moore during his post-season play with Cardinal Hayes High School as well as during the live periods late last month on the AAU circuit.

Bethea has vaulted inside the top 40 of this class, according to several recruiting services. He is making a legitimate case for five-star status in 2024. Personally, I think Elijah Moore is doing the same thing.