Syracuse Basketball: 4-star commit Eddie Lampkin likes this 4-star transfer guard

Syracuse basketball coaches have 10 scholarship players at this juncture for the team's 2024-25 season, meaning that three scholarships are still available.

I've noted that the Orange staff could continue to pursue additional 2024-25 players via the transfer portal or even at the high school level. Positions of potential need might include another big man, an additional guard and a 3-point specialist.

The current transfer-portal window closes on May 1, meaning that college players who wish to transfer to a new school must be in the portal by then. But these transfers don't have to pick a new school by May 1, so recruiting activity could continue on for the coming weeks or even months.

Over the weekend, the 'Cuse missed on four-star guard target Dakota Leffew, a Mount St. Mary's senior who visited the Orange but will transfer to Southeastern Conference school Georgia. Following that news, I've seen a lot of comments from fellow Syracuse basketball fans on social media and in chat rooms stating that they'd like to see the 'Cuse land another talented, veteran guard out of the portal.

Currently, the Orange does have five guards on its 2024-25 roster, including recent four-star commit Jaquan Carlo, a junior point guard from Hofstra who said a few days ago that he would transfer to the 'Cuse for his senior season.

I've gone on record in saying that it may prove tough for the Orange staff to grab another lead guard out of the portal, given the team's backcourt is already filled with five players. However, there may be a transfer out there who we should monitor.

A Syracuse big-man commit seems to like a certain transfer guard.

On Sunday, Orange four-star commit Eddie Lampkin Jr., a senior center from Colorado, gave some love via his Instagram page to Ken Evans Jr., a redshirt junior guard at Jackson State. This was noted via a post on X from passionate Syracuse Orange sports fan Sam Stavrakos.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Evans, who is from Jackson, Miss., entered the transfer portal on March 19, per 247Sports. In national transfer rankings this off-season, he's rated four stars and a top-15 combo guard, according to 247Sports and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking.

In the 2023-24 season, when Southwestern Athletic Conference ("SWAC") member Jackson State went 15-17 overall, Evans was terrific. He averaged 35.8 minutes, 18.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while connecting on 40.8 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.2 percent from free-throw line, according to ESPN data.

I'll say this. I'm definitely digging Evans' 3-point shooting percentage from 2023-24. This past season, he was named the player of the year in his conference while also residing on the All-SWAC first team.

A recent post on X from GREENLIGHT MEDIA says that Evans has been hearing from college squads such as St John's, Minnesota, West Virginia and Mississippi State, among others.

Might the Syracuse basketball coaching staff end up pursuing Evans? Perhaps. Candidly, Orange coaches could already be showing interest in Evans, and it's just not out there in the public domain. Either way, it sounds like Lampkin is high on Evans.