Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Kiyan Anthony, other recruits ball out in AAU live period

As college coaches were on hand during the spring's first live period this past weekend on the various shoe-sponsored AAU circuits, numerous Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star recruiting targets played at a high level.

In this article, I'm going to focus on the top performances of Orange recruits who suit up in the 17U divisions of the different grassroots basketball leagues.

The list below isn't meant to be fully exhaustive, but based on media reports and social media posts, a handful of 'Cuse targets in the 2025 and 2026 classes earned high praise from national analysts and scouts for their play.

Amid last weekend's evaluation period, Nike's EYBL league was in Indianapolis, the Under Armour Association league was in the Cincinnati area, and the Adidas 3SSB league was in Bryan, Texas.

Examining which Syracuse basketball recruits were deemed top AAU performers by experts.

Kiyan Anthony, four-star shooting guard in the 2025 class
Anthony, a 'Cuse priority target who has officially visited the Hill, has been on fire this entire spring in grassroots hoops. During the most recent session, the standout for the Baltimore-based Team Melo in Nike's EYBL league averaged 22.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, per the experts at The Circuit. He was named to The Circuit's All-EYBL Session III second team.

Tyler Jackson, four-star point guard in the 2025 class
Jackson, who took an official visit to Syracuse basketball in late January of this year, plays alongside Anthony for Team Melo. In three games this past weekend, per The Circuit, here were Jackson's stat lines:
Game 1: 11 points, two rebounds and four assists
Game 2: 10 points and two rebounds
Game 3: 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals

Acaden Lewis, four-star guard in the 2025 class
Lewis, a standout with the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike's EYBL league, was offered by the Orange in late April and plans to visit the 'Cuse soon. He averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per contest and was named to The Circuit's All-EYBL Session III first team.

Cam Ward, four-star forward in the 2025 class
Ward, who was offered by Syracuse basketball in late April of last year, is a teammate of Lewis' with Team Durant. In three affairs this past weekend, he tallied 20 points, 20 points and 18 points, according to The Circuit.

Sadiq White Jr., five-star forward in the 2025 class
White is a star for the Charlotte, N.C.-based Team United in Nike's EYBL league. He has the Orange in his top seven and has unofficially visited Syracuse basketball twice. Last weekend, he averaged 13.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. The Circuit named White its All-EYBL Session III defensive MVP as well as to its All-EYBL Session III second squad.

Jordan Smith Jr., five-star shooting guard in the 2026 class
Smith, offered by the 'Cuse in May of 2023, plans to unofficially visit Syracuse basketball next month. He is one of the standouts for the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike's EYBL league while playing up a division this spring and summer. In the most recent session, Smith averaged 10.8 points and four rebounds per contest, getting named to The Circuit's All-Underclass unit.

Imahri Wooten, four-star wing in the 2026 class
Wooten holds a Syracuse basketball offer and took an unofficial visit to the Hill last October. His dad has told me that Wooten is highly interested in officially visiting the Orange at some point. Playing up a division for the Albany, N.Y.-based City Rocks in Nike's EYBL league, last weekend, Wooten averaged 14.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, one assist and one steal per game. The Circuit placed Wooten on its All-EYBL Session III second team and its All-Underclass group.

Keyshuan Tillery, four-star point guard in the 2025 class
Tillery has a 'Cuse offer in hand and took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball in late August of last year to compete in the team's annual Elite Camp. He plays alongside Wooten with the City Rocks. In the latest EYBL session, Tillery averaged 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, six assists and one steal per contest, getting named to The Circuit's All-EYBL Session III third team.

Dante Allen, four-star guard in the 2025 class
Offered by Syracuse basketball in late April of this year, Allen is one of the top players on an elite AAU squad, the Miami-based Nightrydas Elite in Nike's EYBL league. Last weekend, Allen averaged 14.8 points, five rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per contest, making The Circuit's All-EYBL Session III third team.

Ryder Frost, three-star wing in the 2025 class
Frost said via his X page on Monday that he had picked up a 'Cuse scholarship offer. He suits up for the Boston-based Middlesex Magic in the Under Armour Association League. I saw a social media that stating that in one game last weekend, Frost connected on nine 3-pointers and scored 32 points. Per the Under Armour Association Web site, in other games, he scored 10 points, 16 points and 19 points.

Shon Abaev, four-star wing in the 2025 class
Abaev received an offer from the Orange in late April. He stars for the Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based SOH Elite in the Under Armour Association League. I didn't see box scores available for Abaev from last weekend, but several social media posts indicated he played well, along with this article from 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London.

Asher Elson, three-star power forward/center in the 2025 class
Elson, a standout with the Bronx, N.Y.-based New York Gauchos in the Adidas 3SSB League, secured a Syracuse basketball offer in mid-April. He is a fast-rising prospect in the rising high school senior cycle. Per the 3SSB Web site, in three games last weekend, Elson tallied 16 points, 14 points and nine points.