Syracuse basketball is in pursuit of numerous 4-star, 5-star guards in 2025

Syracuse basketball coaches are pursuing numerous highly rated guard prospects in the 2025 class.

According to recruiting services and other sources, the Orange has offered scholarships to at least 13 players in the rising-junior cycle, and by my count, eight of them are guards, whether it be point guards, shooting guards or combo guards.

Now, in all fairness, the ‘Cuse isn’t going to end up a significant contender for all of these guard targets, because that’s unrealistic due to the team’s future roster make-up, the transfer portal and perhaps other factors.

Candidly, I’m not sure how aggressively Orange coaches are recruiting all of these 2025 guards, but they are prospects to monitor, particularly as players in this class start to schedule campus visits and trim their list of contenders down the line.

Let’s review 2025 guards who have received Syracuse basketball scholarship offers.

Nigel James
On Saturday, per top scout Andrew Slater, the ‘Cuse extended an offer to this four-star point guard, who was participating this past weekend in the team’s annual Elite Camp.

The 6-foot James had previously said that he wanted to hear from Syracuse basketball, and now he has an official offer from the Orange. James, in the top 100 nationally per MADE Hoops, is a junior at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., which is a member of the loaded 10-team National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”).

James took an unofficial visit to the Hill to play in the Elite Camp, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he looks to possibly take an official visit to Syracuse basketball in the future.

Kiyan Anthony
The four-star shooting guard received an Orange offer last November. He has said more than once that he will officially visit the ‘Cuse. The 6-foot-5 Anthony, who has vaulted into the top 40 overall in the 2025 class per several recruiting Web sites, will also spend his junior year at Long Island Lutheran.

As far as I can tell, Anthony is one of the top targets for Syracuse basketball coaches in this cycle.

Tyler Jackson
Jackson, a five-star point guard, picked up a ‘Cuse offer in late April. Some recruiting services rate him as the No. 1 point guard and a top-10 national prospect in the 2025 class. He recently signed on with the Atlanta-based professional league Overtime Elite for his junior term after having a standout sophomore stanza at the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore.

Several recent reports have indicated that the Orange is a strong contender to land an official visit from Jackson this fall or winter, and I’ve had numerous recruiting experts echo that sentiment to me of late.

DeMarco Johnson
In late July, Syracuse basketball offered this four-star combo guard. Johnson, a fast-rising player who is in the top 100 nationally and also in the top 20 at either point guard or shooting guard in his cycle, goes to the Southern California Academy in Northridge, Calif.

I’ve been told that the 6-foot-3 Johnson is highly interested in making a trip to Central New York, whether that be as an unofficial visit or an official visit.

Derek Dixon
The Orange offered this four-star combo guard on June 15, when college coaches could first start initiating direct communication with 2025 players. The 6-foot-4 Dixon, out of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., has said in numerous interviews that there is mutual interest among him and the ‘Cuse coaching staff to get him on the SU campus for a visit.

Recruiting analyst Jake Lieberman recently said that the Orange is among the handful of schools that Dixon hears from the most these days.

Darryn Peterson
Peterson is an elite five-star shooting guard who recently moved to No. 2 nationally in the 2025 class, according to multiple recruiting services. The ‘Cuse offered him in late April. He announced not too long ago that he was transferring from the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, to Huntington Expression Prep in Huntington, W.Va.

In recent days, several national analysts have stated that the 6-foot-5 Peterson is mapping out some visits, with schools mentioned including Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina. I think it will prove tough for Syracuse basketball to emerge as a viable contender for this top-flight prospect.

Darius Adams
The 6-foot-3 Adams was offered by the Orange in August of 2022. The combo guard is rated five stars by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, and MADE Hoops has Adams at No. 13 nationally in the 2025 cycle.

Adams will spend his junior term at the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., a NIBC member. I’m not sure how big of a player the ‘Cuse is at present in his recruitment, as several recent reports on Adams have indicated that suitors besides Syracuse basketball are in the most frequent contact with him.

Jerry Easter II
This five-star point guard landed an Orange offer last summer. He has also transferred to La Lumiere for the upcoming 2023-24 campaign. A while back, some reports indicated that Easter wanted to visit the Hill at some point, and that could still be the case.

However, more recent interviews given by Easter have pointed to him mapping out upcoming visits with other teams, and not necessarily Syracuse basketball.