Syracuse Basketball: 4-star commit, 5-star recruit are top shooters in 2024

Syracuse basketball four-star commit Elijah Moore and Orange five-star priority recruit Jalil Bethea are among the top shooters across the country in the 2024 class, according to one of the best national analysts in the business.

It has proven a breakout few months for both of these talented rising seniors on the AAU circuit. The 6-foot-4 Moore from New York City, who verbally pledged to the ‘Cuse in late January, was simply sensational for the 17U team of the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas 3SSB league.

The 6-foot-4 Bethea from the Philadelphia area, meanwhile, is arguably the hottest prospect nationally in the 2024 cycle. He is now a consensus top-20 overall player in this class, with some recruiting services placing him in the top 10 (and the potential to climb up even higher, I’m told).

Bethea, who has Syracuse basketball in his top five and plans to officially visit the Hill for a second time this September, has been a standout in the latest grassroots hoops season for the 17U squad of the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike’s EYBL league.

Team Final won the EYBL regular-season crown in the 17U division and also reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious Peach Jam tournament, which took place last month.

A Syracuse basketball commit and recruit are top 2024 shooters.

In recent days, On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw published a piece where he looked at the top shooters around the country in the 2024 class. By the way, I highly recommend giving Jamie a follow and checking out his content. He’s one of the top recruiting analysts/scouts out there.

Shaw, in his piece on the top 2024 shooters, included both Bethea and Moore, and this doesn’t surprise me one iota.

As I noted in another recent column, the experts at The Circuit have named Moore as their offensive MVP and put him on the All-3SSB first team during the most recent Adidas circuit.

Per The Circuit, Moore averaged 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest in the latest 3SSB campaign, while hitting on 46.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Synergy Basketball, in releasing a lot of intriguing data via Twitter of late, noted how Moore ranked No. 1 in offensive efficiency among qualified scorers in the 3SSB 17U division, and the Orange pledge was also the top-ranked most productive jump shooter in this division.

Similar to Moore, The Circuit bestowed upon Bethea its offensive MVP in the Nike 17U regular season, while also placing him on the All-EYBL first squad. Bethea averaged 18.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per encounter, and he connected on 49.8 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from deep and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line.

The Circuit also had Bethea on its All-Peach Jam first unit, during which time he averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists per affair.

In the EYBL 17U division, according to recent tweets from Synergy Basketball, Bethea also arrived at No. 1 in offensive efficiency among qualified scorers, and he was the No. 2 most productive perimeter shotmaker in this division.

We all know how critical it is in Division 1 hoops and also in the pros for teams to have serious threats from long-range. The Orange has already secured a commitment from one of the top shooters in the 2024 cycle, Moore, and the ‘Cuse is a significant contender for another elite shooter in the rising-senior class, Bethea.

That, to me, is thoroughly exciting and encouraging.