Despite GMac leaving, Syracuse basketball remains in pursuit of 4-star big Matt Gilhool

Matt Gilhool, the 2025 four-star big man from the Philadelphia area, says that he continues to hear from the Syracuse basketball staff.

Earlier this spring, the 6-foot-10 power forward/center said in an article published on inquirer.com that his recruiting process had become "wide open."

Part of that had to due with former Orange associate head coach Gerry McNamara becoming the head coach at Siena, and former long-time 'Cuse assistant Mike Hopkins being let go as the head coach at Washington.

In that inquirer.com story, Gilhool had said his top three college suitors at the time were Syracuse basketball, Washington and Penn State.

However, in a recent post on X, 247Sports national analyst/scout Brandon Jenkins noted that these days, Gilhool is hearing the most from the Orange, Alabama, Michigan and Penn State. Per posts on his X page, Gilhool has picked up newer scholarship offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech and LSU.

Syracuse basketball remains in contact with 2025 four-star big man Matt Gilhool.

McNamara, according to media reports, had served as the lead 'Cuse recruiter for Gilhool. It's unclear to me which member of the Orange staff now serves in that role. Throughout his recruitment, Gilhool has landed more than 20 offers, per recruiting Web sites and social media posts.

Gilhool, rated as a top-80 national prospect and a top-20 power forward by numerous recruiting services, is a standout rising senior at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.

This spring and summer, he has competed for the 17U squad of the Philadelphia-based Team Final in Nike's EYBL league, where one of his teammates has been 2025 four-star combo guard Jerry Easter II, who holds an offer from Syracuse basketball.

During the EYBL regular season, Team Final went 6-9 overall, with Gilhool averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Team Final, on Friday, July 12, will suit up at a play-in game to potentially make the main draw of this summer's Peach Jam tournament, which will feature 24 teams vying for the coveted crown from July 13 to July 21 in North Augusta, S.C.

Earlier in June, Gilhool participated in two prestigious events, the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas and the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Orlando, Fla.

Gilhool has visited the Orange at least three times, including an official visit to the Hill in late September of 2023. He received a 'Cuse scholarship offer in late August of last year, around the time that he played in the Orange's annual Elite Camp.

For what it's worth, when I wrote this article, Syracuse basketball remained in the lead for Gilhool, according to On3's recruiting prediction machine.

I'm pleasantly surprised that the 'Cuse staff remains in pursuit of Gilhool, even with GMac now at Siena. That being said, in mid-April, Syracuse basketball offered 2025 four-star big man Asher Elson out of South Shore High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.

More recently, in early June, the Orange offered 2025 five-star power forward Chris Cenac Jr., who recently said that he would transfer for his senior year from the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans to the powerhouse Link Academy in Branson, Mo.