It would not surprise me if Syracuse basketball's second portal pledge was this guard

Social media and chat rooms have, in recent days, proven buzz-tastic (is that a word?) regarding Syracuse basketball and one transfer guard in particular.

Since the transfer portal opened more than a week ago, various media reports and X posts from recruiting analysts have noted that numerous college transfers have heard from the Orange staff.

The 'Cuse, at the time of this writing, has landed at least one commitment from a college transfer, UCLA power forward/center William Kyle lll, a junior.

And while the Orange has been linked, so to speak, with a bevy of other transfers, I'd keep an eye on Oregon State redshirt junior guard Nate Kingz, who I wrote about a few days ago.

I do not have inside information about Kingz's recruiting process, however, based on what I'm reading about him as it pertains to the 'Cuse on social media and in chat forums, it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up pulling the trigger and commits to Syracuse basketball sooner rather than later.

Of course, I could be completely wrong. I often am.

Syracuse basketball has a ton of scholarships available for the upcoming campaign.

Brian Higgins of ESPN Radio Syracuse and Cuse Sports Talk, who is extremely well-informed and connected when it relates to Syracuse Orange sports, said on Tuesday afternoon via X that, per his sources, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Kingz "is in Syracuse at this very moment."

Fun things.

Is Kingz, who hails from Salem, Ore., on commitment watch up on the Hill? I guess we'll see.

In 2024-25, according to ESPN statistics, Kingz averaged 27.6 minutes, 11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest while connecting on 50.4 percent from the field, 44.6 percent from beyond the arc (on a high volume of attempts), and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Given that, in the most recent season, the 'Cuse only made 32.8 percent from deep, I have opined more than once of late that a huge off-season need for the program via the transfer portal is finding a sharpshooter (or two) from the perimeter. Kingz absolutely fits that mold.

Syracuse basketball, in 2024-25, went 14-19 overall and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight occasion. Of the team's 12 scholarship players, five exhausted their eligibility, five have hit the portal, and two are returning.

The squad's 2025 prep class includes four signees, and the Orange has a pledge from Kyle. Might Kingz be the next college transfer to commit to the 'Cuse? We'll find out. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if he was.