Syracuse basketball showing interest in 4-star teammate of Kiyan Anthony

Syracuse basketball coaches are reportedly showing interest in a four-star teammate of Orange priority recruit Kiyan Anthony.

On June 15, when college coaches could start initiating direct communication with players in the 2025 class, the Orange coaching staff reached out to 2025 four-star wing Jacob Ross, according to a tweet at that time from scout/recruiting insider Colby Giacubeno.

The 247Sports Web site also says that Ross is receiving interest from Syracuse basketball, among numerous other schools. The 6-foot-5 Ross, who hails from Manassas, Va., is a talented guard/small forward and rising junior at the powerhouse Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y. On the AAU circuit, he competes for the Baltimore-based Team Melo in Nike’s EYBL league.

The 6-foot-5 Anthony, a 2025 four-star shooting guard out of New York City and the son of ‘Cuse legend Carmelo Anthony, will spend his junior year during the 2023-24 campaign at Long Island Lutheran, which is a member of the loaded 10-team National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”) and played in the prestigious 2023 GEICO Nationals this spring.

Kiyan Anthony also suits up for the Team Melo program and earned a lot of high praise from recruiting experts for his performances this spring and summer in grassroots basketball. He recently moved into the top 40 nationwide of the 2025 cycle, per several recruiting services.

Syracuse basketball has interest in a four-star teammate of Kiyan Anthony.

As juniors, Anthony and Ross will play on a big stage, as the NIBC features some of the top high-school hoops squads around the country and has some of its games broadcast on national television.

Long Island Lutheran, a stanza ago, was a top-five team. Looking ahead to 2023-24, some experts are forecasting the Crusaders as a preseason top-five group that is expected to contend for another berth in the annual GEICO Nationals.

Ross spent his freshman year at the Saint James School in Hagerstown, Md., before transferring to Long Island Lutheran for his sophomore season. In early February of this year, Kiyan Anthony said he would move from Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, N.Y., to Long Island Lutheran for his junior term.

It’s still early on in Ross’ recruiting process. His offer sheet, at this juncture, includes Maryland, Virginia Tech, George Mason and Albany, according to his Twitter page and recruiting services.

Per recruiting Web sites and media reports, schools that appear to be showing interest in Ross, besides Syracuse basketball, include Georgetown, LSU, Marquette, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Penn State, Providence, Virginia, 2023 national champion UConn, Pittsburgh, Robert Morris and Oregon, among others.

His older brother, 2023 four-star small forward Jayden Ross, is an incoming freshman at UConn during the upcoming 2023-24 campaign.

Multiple recruiting Web sites, including the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, rank Jacob Ross as four stars, a top-80 national prospect, a top-20 shooting guard/small forward and a top-three player in New York within the 2025 class.

Ross and Kiyan Anthony, not too long ago, played up a division on the EYBL circuit for the 17U squad of Team Melo at the recently held Peach Jam tournament from the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, S.C. Team Melo didn’t have a 16U group qualify for Peach Jam, by the way.

At Peach Jam, Team Melo went 1-4. According to the EYBL Web site, Ross played in two games, scoring a total of five points over a combined nine minutes.

I’ll continue to track his recruitment moving forward.