Syracuse Basketball: 4-star recruit Acaden Lewis dishes on unofficial visit to 'Cuse

Fast-rising DMV product Acaden Lewis, a 2025 four-star guard and a top-40 national prospect from Washington, D.C., took an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball on August 1.

The 6-foot-3 Lewis, one of the hottest prospects in the rising high school senior class, is trending toward five-star status. He's got the Orange in his top eight, a group of finalists that includes multiple blue-blood programs, such as Duke, North Carolina and two-time defending national champion UConn.

Undeniably, the competition for the 'Cuse staff to prevail for Lewis is intense. At the same time, ever since the Orange offered him a scholarship in late April of this year, the program has prioritized Lewis in the 2025 cycle.

What's more, as we've noted on many occasions, multiple Syracuse basketball coaches have deep and long-standing relationships and recruiting ties to the talent-laden Washington, D.C., market.

Last month, after Lewis disclosed his top eight, several recruiting insiders told me that the 'Cuse faces a significant challenge in trying to win out for Lewis, but the Orange does have a shot, and it could depend in large part on how Lewis' visits to his finalists pan out.

Four-star guard Acaden Lewis briefly discusses his recent unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball.

In a recent article by top writer Charlie Parent on zagsblog.com, Lewis had this to say about his trip to the Hill at the beginning of August: "It was good. (Their message) is that we’re coming, that I’d play from Day 1 and that they have a spot on the team. They have opportunity for me. (Five-star commit Sadiq White) he wants me to throw oops for him and stuff like that."

Lewis is a standout with the nationally ranked Sidwell Friends School in D.C. This spring and summer on the AAU circuit, he was a star for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike's EYBL league.

As I noted in a column, Lewis was among four Syracuse basketball targets in the 2025 and 2026 classes who were set to compete in the Under Armour Next Elite 24 showcase on Saturday night in Brooklyn, N.Y., an event that aired on ESPNU.

The 6-foot-8 White, by the way, recently told top writer Sam Lance on zagsblog.com that he's actively recruiting several highly ranked 'Cuse targets, including Lewis and four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, to join him in the Orange's 2025 class.

White, a five-star forward and a top-20 national prospect from Charlotte, N.C., verbally committed to Syracuse basketball in late May. Word recently broke that he will spend his senior year at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

"We’re trying to make it big man," White said of the 'Cuse 2025 class to Lance, later adding that he wants to "put the ‘Cuse back on top. Bring them back to No. 1."

White is a tremendous first get for the Orange in this cycle. Adding a prospect of Lewis' talent level, naturally, would be huge for the team's 2025 class. It may be somewhat of a long shot for Syracuse basketball to land Lewis, but you never know how things will shake out.