Syracuse Basketball: Judah Mintz to return for sophomore year – massive!

Syracuse basketball freshman point guard Judah Mintz, in a huge development for the Orange, said he plans to return to the Hill for his sophomore year, according to a press release posted on cuse.com Wednesday evening.

In March, the 6-foot-3 Mintz said that he would test the 2023 NBA Draft waters while maintaining his collegiate eligibility. These days, he is showing up via some mock projections in the mid to late second round of the 2023 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn N.Y.

Last month, Judah Mintz participated at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, where he had an opportunity to showcase his skills before scouts and front-office executives of NBA teams.

Mintz had until 11:59 pm on Wednesday night to remove his name from the 2023 NBA Draft, if he elected to return to the Orange for his sophomore season.

Syracuse basketball freshman point guard Judah Mintz is coming back in 2023-24.

By and large, Mintz had a good first season for the ‘Cuse, which went 17-15 overall during the 2022-23 campaign, missing the NCAA Tournament for the second stanza in a row.

As a freshman for the Orange, the Fort Washington, Md., native averaged 33.3 minutes, 16.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.4 turnovers per game, while connecting on 44.3 percent from the field, 75.1 percent from the free-throw line and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.

He needs to improve his shooting percentage from 3-point land. But in 2022-23, Judah Mintz displayed prowess for driving into the lane, finishing through contact and getting to the charity stripe.

He’s also known for his high-energy and defensive instincts, evidenced by the 1.8 steals per contest that he generated in 2022-23. This past season, Mintz was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Freshman team.

A consensus four-star prospect in the 2022 class, he had a standout senior year for the powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. Judah Mintz was originally committed to Pittsburgh, reopened his recruitment and ultimately pledged to the ‘Cuse over DePaul, Wake Forest and N.C. State, rounding out a six-member 2022 cycle for Syracuse basketball.

Looking ahead to the Orange’s 2023-24 season, in the backcourt, the team will boast a bunch of guards, including Mintz, Notre Dame freshman transfer J.J. Starling, Auburn freshman transfer Chance Westry and Kansas redshirt-freshman transfer Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Other backcourt returnees are ‘Cuse rising sophomore Justin Taylor, a shooting guard/small forward, and rising sophomore Quadir Copeland, a point guard/small forward. Rising sophomore Chris Bell mostly plays small forward but could also likely suit up at shooting guard as well.

With Judah Mintz electing to return for his sophomore stanza, by my count, the Orange roster is set with 13 scholarship players. His decision to come back, from my perspective, could propel the ‘Cuse into preseason top-25 polls prior to 2023-24 commencing, and the Orange had better make a run at a Big Dance bid!