Syracuse Basketball: 4-star wing from D.C. reveals top 7, includes Orange

Caleb Williams, a talented guard/small forward in the junior cycle from Washington, D.C., said on Thursday that he is down to seven suitors still in the running for him, including Syracuse basketball.

The 6-foot-7 Williams, a four-star wing and top-100 national prospect in the 2024 class according to several recruiting services, said on Twitter that his top seven consists of the Orange, Villanova, Michigan, Indiana, Georgetown, Virginia and Miami.

That’s certainly encouraging news that Syracuse basketball has made the cut for Williams, who suits up on the AAU circuit with an Orange 2024 four-star commit and a ‘Cuse 2024 four-star target.

Per an article from On3 national analyst Joe Tipton, Williams has taken official visits to Michigan, Indiana, Villanova, and Georgetown. Tipton wrote in his story that Williams could make a commitment announcement “in the near future.”

From my perspective, the ‘Cuse coaching staff needs to get Williams on the Hill for an official visit if the Orange hopes to prevail in his recruiting process.

Syracuse basketball remains in contention for 2024 four-star wing Caleb Williams.

The ‘Cuse offered a scholarship to Williams in late April, one of the numerous offers doled out by Syracuse basketball coaches around that time to prospects in the 2024 and 2025 cycles.

Williams is a standout for the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. In grassroots basketball, he suits up for the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

There are a lot of recruiting connections between Williams, Team Takeover and the Syracuse basketball coaching staff. For one, Williams plays for Team Takeover alongside 2024 four-star power forward Donnie Freeman, who verbally committed to the Orange last month, and 2024 four-star center Patrick Ngongba II, a ‘Cuse recruiting target also offered by the team in late April.

Both Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry and assistant coach Brenden Straughn previously served as assistants with the Team Takeover program. Additionally, Autry and Straughn have deep recruiting ties in the fertile Washington, D.C., market.

Freeman said in a recent podcast interview that he is trying to help the Orange recruit several 2024 targets, including Williams and Ngongba, to join him in the squad’s two-member, national top-10 junior cycle. Elijah Moore, a four-star shooting guard from New York City, is the other 2024 player who has verbally committed to Syracuse basketball at this point.

By the way, this spring on the AAU circuit, Team Takeover’s 17U squad finished at 14-3 overall and won its division during the EYBL regular season. Team Takeover will be one of the favorites to cut down the nets at the upcoming Peach Jam tournament, which will run from July 3 to July 9 in North Augusta, S.C.

In Williams’ junior season for Sidwell Friends, he unfortunately missed a bunch of games due to an injury. However, when he was in the line-up, the Quakers were fantastic, wrapping up the 2022-23 stanza at 28-4 overall and also capturing the prestigious 2023 State Champions Invitational.

In the final contest of that tournament, when Sidwell Friends knocked off the powerhouse Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., Williams connected on 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and tallied a game-high 24 points.

MaxPreps placed Sidwell Friends at No. 16 nationally in its final top 25 of last season, and looking ahead to the 2023-24 campaign, MaxPreps is super high on the Quakers, rating them at No. 5 around the country.

According to recruiting Web sites and his Twitter page, Williams has collected more than 20 offers throughout his recruitment. His offer sheet, besides Syracuse basketball, includes Florida State, Michigan, Indiana, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Providence and Ole Miss, among others.

When I penned this column, within the 2024 class on a national scale, Williams checked in at No. 100 per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, while ESPN rated him at No. 85 overall in this cycle.