Syracuse basketball officially in the mix for fast-rising 4-star NY point guard

Nigel James, a 2025 four-star point guard and fast-rising prospect in his class, picked up a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball on Saturday as he competed in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp, according to top scout Andrew Slater.

Full disclosure – I’m excited that the ‘Cuse coaching staff has officially gotten into the recruitment of the 6-foot James, who has said in the past that he was hoping to hear from Syracuse basketball and, ultimately, receive an offer from the Orange.

James was among numerous 2025 and 2026 prospects who participated in the ‘Cuse Elite Camp on Saturday, and I’ll monitor whether any other participants end up receiving offers from Syracuse basketball coaches.

A native of New York state, James is vastly underrated in the rising-junior cycle. He is in the top 100 nationally per MADE Hoops, but other recruiting services, at present, have him in the top 130. I expect that to change.

Syracuse basketball has offered 2025 four-star point guard Nigel James.

James was a standout this spring and summer playing on the AAU circuit for the 16U team of the Boston-based Expressions Elite in Nike’s EYBL league. For his junior year, he has transferred from the Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass., to the powerhouse Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., which is a member of the loaded 10-team National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”).

This past season, Long Island Lutheran played in this spring’s GEICO Nationals and finished second in the NIBC’s regular-season standings. In 2023-24, some high-school hoops experts forecast the Crusaders as a top-three squad in the NIBC, a top-five national team, and a significant contender to return to GEICO Nationals.

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At Long Island Lutheran in the upcoming season, James will play alongside 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, who was offered by the ‘Cuse last November and plans to officially visit the Hill at some point.

According to recruiting services, besides Syracuse basketball, James’ offer sheet includes schools such as Seton Hall, George Mason, Iowa, Marquette, UMass, Minnesota, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Southern California, Wake Forest, Xavier, Manhattan, Saint Joseph’s and UAB, among others.

Per a recent story by Zach Smart on nychoops.rivals.com, other teams showing interest in James include 2023 national champion UConn, Villanova, Boston College and Georgetown.

James, who was born in New York City and grew up in the town of Huntington on Long Island, recently told analyst/scout Colby Giacubeno that, these days, he’s hearing the most from Rutgers, Providence, Marquette and Virginia Tech. I’ll keep my ear to the ground as to how Syracuse basketball will factor into James’ recruiting process moving forward.

To date, the Orange has offered scholarships to approximately 13 prospects in the 2025 class, including several point guards, such as five-star Tyler Jackson, five-star Jerry Easter II and four-star DeMarco Johnson.