Syracuse Basketball: Judah Mintz big contender for nation’s top PG award

As Syracuse basketball prepares to open its 2023-24 campaign in the near future, sophomore point guard Judah Mintz is racking up all kinds of Atlantic Coast Conference and national preseason accolades.

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Mintz, who hails from the talent-laden Washington, D.C., market, has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Bob Cousy Award, which annually honors the top point guard in Division I men’s hoops, according to SU Athletics and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Judah Mintz is one of 20 players on this preseason watch list. Undeniably, there is fierce competition for Mintz to prevail for this honor, but I do think he will be a significant contender for the Bob Cousy Award throughout the 2023-24 season.

Of the 20 point guards named to the preseason watch list, I’m counting four players from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including Mintz. Additionally, two former Orange recruiting targets, Kentucky freshman D.J. Wagner and Memphis graduate student Jahvon Quinerly, made the cut.

Syracuse basketball point guard Judah Mintz is poised for a big sophomore term.

Mintz, who is from Fort Washington, Md., was a 2022 four-star prospect out of the powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. In his freshman campaign, when the ‘Cuse went 17-15 overall, Judah Mintz averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.4 turnovers per game, while connecting on 44.3 percent from the field, 75.1 percent from the free-throw line and 30.3 percent from beyond the arc.

In the 2022-23 season, Mintz was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman team. He is expected to be in the starting rotation when Syracuse basketball kicks off its 2023-24 term when hosting New Hampshire on Monday, Nov. 6, at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Not too long ago, top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of recruiting service On3 put Mintz on his preseason All-ACC first squad.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports recently included Judah Mintz in a piece where he looked at 10 players who will become stars in the upcoming campaign.

As Rothstein noted, Mintz already demonstrated as a freshman with the Orange that he’s a terrific producer on the offensive end of the court, and by improving his 3-point shot and cutting down on his turnovers, there is no doubt in my mind that Judah Mintz will be in the running for All-ACC and All-America honors in 2023-24.

Other preseason accolades that Mintz has earned of late include being named the No. 2 point guard across the country, per national expert Andy Katz, as well as arriving as the No. 52 overall player nationwide in 2023-24, according to The Field of 68.