Syracuse basketball 4-star, 5-star targets praised by national analyst Fran Fraschilla

Suiting up at an elite showcase on Saturday night in New York City that aired on national television, four highly rated prospects who hold scholarship offers from Syracuse basketball earned a heap of praise from ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla and other recruiting experts.

The event that took place at the Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Saturday evening was the Under Armour Next Elite 24, with ESPNU providing television coverage.

The four Orange recruiting targets competing in this event all played well, according to a box score that I obtained as well as posts on X from national analysts and scouts.

Playing for the "Team Ice" roster were 2025 four-star small forward and top-40 national prospect Shon Abaev, as well as 2026 four-star wing and top-85 overall player Abdou Toure.

Over on the "Team Fire" roster, 'Cuse recruits participating were 2025 four-star guard and top-40 national prospect Acaden Lewis, along with 2026 five-star point guard and top-15 overall player Deron Rippey Jr. Rippey's dad was kind enough to share a box score from this showcase with me on Sunday.

In a thrilling battle, Team Ice would end up prevailing over Team Fire, 97-94.

Syracuse basketball recruits balled out in the Big Apple.

Here are the statistics for the quartet of Orange targets:
Shon Abaev: 22 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists
Abdou Toure: 16 points and four rebounds
Acaden Lewis: 15 points, five rebounds and three assists
Deron Rippey Jr.: 15 points, one rebound and seven assists

Per posts on X, Abaev took home the MVP honors at this event. According to an X post from college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, Toure knocked down a walk-off 3-pointer to win the game for Team Ice.

Fraschilla, who formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico, and other experts noted that Abaev, Toure, Lewis and Rippey all proved standouts at the Under Armour Next Elite 24, which is so cool to see.

The 6-foot-8 Abaev, a rising senior at the Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., plans to take an official visit to the Orange from August 30 to August 31, as I discussed in other recent columns.

The 6-foot-5 Toure, who picked up his 'Cuse offer in late July, is a standout at Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Conn., and was the MaxPreps player of the year in that state as a sophomore during the 2023-24 season.

The 6-foot-3 Lewis, who stars for the nationally ranked Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., has the Orange in his top eight and took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball on August 1.

The 6-foot-2 Rippey, one of the leaders of the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., unofficially visited the 'Cuse this past February on Jim Boeheim Day. When I caught up with his dad on Sunday by phone, he reiterated that Rippey will take an official visit to Syracuse basketball at some point. A date just has to be finalized, Deron Rippey Sr. told me.