Syracuse Basketball: 4-star, 5-star recruits’ teams score top 10 national rankings

This week, Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star recruiting targets find themselves suiting up for teams highly rated in new national top-25 rankings from MaxPreps and ESPN.

In recent days, MaxPreps released its latest top 25 where it ranks high school programs that compete for state-affiliated championships.

ESPN also put out its new top 25, although that recruiting service includes independent basketball academies and prep schools that don’t play in season-ending, state-sponsored tournaments.

In these top-25 rankings, I’m counting five teams that have rosters featuring Orange recruits. They are St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C., Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and the La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.

Syracuse basketball targets play for some of the top squads nationwide.

St. Paul VI
No. 2 in the MaxPreps top 25
No. 3 in the ESPN top 25
The St. Paul VI roster in the 2023-24 season includes 2026 five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. and 2026 point guard Anthony Brown, both of whom have been offered by the Orange. Brown went on an unofficial visit to Central New York last August, while Smith has indicated that he would like to visit Syracuse basketball in the future.

Long Island Lutheran
No. 6 in the ESPN top 25
Backcourt teammates at Long Island Lutheran are 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony and 2025 four-star point guard Nigel James. Both hold scholarship offers from the ‘Cuse. Anthony officially visited last October, while James took an official visit to the Orange last September.

Myers Park
No. 4 in the MaxPreps top 25
No. 16 in the ESPN top 25
A standout for Myers Park is 2025 four-star forward Sadiq White Jr. He has an offer from the Orange and went on an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball in September of last year.

Gonzaga
No. 8 in the MaxPreps top 25
No. 20 in the ESPN top 25
Derek Dixon, a 2025 four-star combo guard, is one of the stars at Gonzaga. Offered by the ‘Cuse last June, he took an official visit to the Hill in September of 2023.

La Lumiere
No. 10 in the ESPN top 25
One of the stars for La Lumiere is 2025 four-star point guard Jerry Easter II, who has an offer from the Orange and wants to officially visit Syracuse basketball soon, a source has told me.