Syracuse Basketball: 4-star point guard with Orange offer discloses top 7

Curtis Givens III, a four-star point guard in the 2024 class who has played quite well this spring on the AAU circuit, announced his top seven on Twitter, and Syracuse basketball didn’t make the cut.

The 6-foot-3 Givens, a native of Memphis, Tenn., says his top seven consists of LSU, Memphis, Texas, 2023 national champion UConn, Georgia Tech, Indiana and Villanova, which won recent national titles in 2016 and 2018.

The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Givens this past February. However, more recently, in late April, the ‘Cuse offered fellow 2024 four-star point guard Mikey Lewis.

That, to me, suggested perhaps the Orange wasn’t actively recruiting Givens any longer, but that is purely my own opinion. It could also be the case that Givens had more interest in other potential suitors. Either way, I wish him all the best.

Syracuse basketball is out of the running for 2024 four-star point guard Curtis Givens III.

Besides the ‘Cuse, Givens’ offer sheet includes teams such as Georgia Tech, Texas, Villanova, Florida State, UConn, Indiana, Memphis, Ole Miss, LSU, Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Georgetown, St. John’s, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Xavier.

Givens is a rising senior at the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. As a junior during the 2022-23 term, Givens was part of a loaded Montverde Academy roster that won the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”) regular-season title and earned a berth to the 2023 GEICO Nationals.

In grassroots basketball, Givens is a standout for the Overland Park, Kan.-based MoKan Elite in Nike’s EYBL league. During recent AAU competitions, he has received a lot of high praise from national analysts and scouts for his performances.

Multiple recruiting services rate Givens, in the junior cycle, as a top-70 national prospect, a top-10 point guard and a top-10 player in Florida.

Within the 2024 class, the Syracuse basketball coaching staff has doled out offers to a variety of four-star and five-star point guards/combo guards. Several have already committed to other schools, such as five-star Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina) and four-star Robert Wright III (Baylor).

At this juncture, my sense is that the Orange isn’t a major player for five-star Boogie Fland, who was offered by the Orange in January.

Syracuse basketball coaches appear to be prioritizing four-star combo guard/wing Jalil Bethea and Lewis, who has said on a couple of occasions lately that he wants to visit the ‘Cuse campus.