Syracuse Basketball: This off-season, Adrian Autry a big recruiting winner

Roster retention and additions

Here are the existing Syracuse basketball players who are coming back in 2023-24: freshman point guard Judah Mintz, freshman shooting guard/small forward Justin Taylor, freshman forward Chris Bell, sophomore forward Benny Williams, freshman guard/small forward Quadir Copeland, freshman forward Maliq Brown, freshman big man Peter Carey and sophomore center Mounir Hima.

Via the transfer portal, Adrian Autry & Co. have brought in Auburn freshman guard/small forward Chance Westry, who has four years of eligibility left, Notre Dame freshman guard J.J. Starling, Florida State sophomore center Naheem McLeod and Kansas redshirt-freshman guard Kyle Cuffe Jr., who will also have four years of eligibility remaining.

In 2023-24, the Orange will have one high-school commit, 2023 three-star center William Patterson out of The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J. To be fair, he verbally committed to the team in February, before Autry was named to replace Boeheim. But whenever there is a head-coaching change, you never know if high-school commits, or even current players, will bolt.

To that end, after Adrian Autry became the Syracuse basketball head coach, 2024 four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City reaffirmed his verbal commitment to the Orange. Last month, four-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., verbally committed to the ‘Cuse.

At present, the team’s two-member 2024 cycle is ranked in the top five nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking, and Syracuse basketball coaches continue to pursue several top-flight players in this class.

This off-season, the Orange has lost four players to the transfer portal. The ‘Cuse has brought in four transfers and a high-school signee, while retaining eight existing players, including Mintz, who just a few days ago said he would return to the Hill for his sophomore year. And Syracuse basketball has reaffirmed one 2024 four-star pledge and landed a second 2024 four-star verbal commitment.