Former Syracuse basketball players and 4-star recruit in portal; might ‘Cuse pursue?

As the current transfer-portal window was set to close on May 1, Syracuse basketball appears to have 10 scholarship players on its 2024-25 roster, with three open scholarships still available.

I've suggested that additional areas of need for the Orange coaching staff this off-season could entail bringing on board an additional point guard, a 3-point specialist and a power forward/center to provide more depth in the front-court.

Now, while college players who intend to transfer have to be in the portal by May 1, their recruitments could carry on for a while. I don't necessarily think that the 'Cuse will have 13 players on scholarship for the upcoming campaign, but I could envision the Orange staff bringing on board one or two more players.

To that end, two former Syracuse basketball players are in the transfer portal, along with a former four-star recruiting target. Might 'Cuse coaches pursue any of these guys? We'll have to wait and see.

Former Syracuse basketball players and a former 4-star recruit are in the portal.

The players I'm referring to here are Seton Hall senior guard Kadary Richmond, Georgia senior center Frank Anselem-Ibe and Kansas State junior wing Arthur Kaluma.

Both the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Richmond and the 6-foot-10, 215-pound Anselem-Ibe previously played for the Orange. 'Cuse coaches pursued the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Kaluma in the 2021 high school recruiting class; he initially played at Creighton before transferring to Kansas State.

When I wrote this article on Wednesday, in national transfer rankings from 247Sports, Richmond was four stars and in the top 10 overall; Anselem-Ibe was three stars; and Kaluma was four stars and in the top 20 nationally.

In recent days, I've read a lot of interesting and insightful comments from Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms regarding Richmond. Earlier this week, Syracuse.com's Brent Axe made his thoughts known on whether Syracuse basketball coaches should pursue Richmond.

Here's the crux, though. Richmond had a great 2023-24 season, helping lead Seton Hall to the NIT championship. He'll have a ton of big-time suitors, and it's likely that name, image and likeness opportunities will prove a factor.

Kaluma, too, was excellent this past term for Kansas State. Anselem-Ibe, meanwhile, only averaged about nine minutes per contest in 2023-24 for Georgia.

So as it relates to the Orange, we have to consider fit and playing time available. Richmond and Kaluma will merit starting roles. The 'Cuse 2023-24 roster, currently, has five guards, including recent four-star transfer commit Jaquan Carlos, a junior from Hofstra.

In the forward positional group, sophomore Chris Bell was a starter last season and is expected to return. Syracuse basketball also brings in four-star transfer Jyáre Davis, a senior from Delaware, and 2024 five-star commit Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., who is the nation's No. 1 power forward in his class.

With that as context, at least to me anyway, it seems that it would prove challenging for the Orange staff to land either Richmond or Kaluma; and that's assuming 'Cuse coaches even make a run at these guys, or that they have any sort of interest in SU.

This brings us to Anselem-Ibe. I have no idea what his expectations are for the 2024-25 stanza. Since he didn't play all that much at Georgia this past term, I'm not sure he's likely to find a spot at another power-conference school where he would play starter's minutes or anything close to that.

But if he's looking to grab a reserve role, whether at power forward or at center, maybe the Orange could prove a good fit. The team's two 2024-25 centers are four-star transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr., a senior from Colorado, and junior Naheem McLeod, who only appeared in 14 games in 2023-24 due to an injury.

Media reports suggest that Adrian Autry, who is now the head coach of Syracuse basketball, was the lead recruiter at the 'Cuse for Anselem-Ibe. Let's see if Autry decides to get in touch with Frank.