A top high school hoops analyst has published an early set of preseason top-25 national rankings for the 2024-25 campaign, and various Syracuse basketball recruits find their teams highly placed.
In fact, Orange targets reside on the country's No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 squads in this preseason top 25 from top high school hoops analyst and scout Samad Hines, who is the owner of The Grind Hoops.
BREAKING: The 2024-2025 high school season Way-Too-Early Top-25 National Rankings as of today.
— Samad Hines (@Samad_Hines) June 7, 2024
1- @MVABasketball
2- @LuHiBasketball
3- @AZCompass_Prep
4- @PVIHoops
5- @GonzagaHoops
6- @UtahPrepMBB
7- @LinkHoops
8- @BrewsterHoops
9- @LaLuBasketball
10- @ORHSHOOPSQUAD pic.twitter.com/4DS0Oj0OUc
High school teams that we will focus on here include the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.
Syracuse basketball recruits will suit up for highly ranked squads next season.
Montverde, No. 1
In 2023-24, the Eagles went undefeated and won the high school national championship in early April at last season's Chipotle Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind. Montverde is losing a lot of key guys to the college level ahead of 2024-25, but the Eagles recently added 2025 four-star shooting guard Dante Allen to their roster for next season. Allen, who as a junior starred for the Riviera Preparatory School in Miami, was offered a scholarship by the 'Cuse staff in late April of this year. I could see him potentially visit the Hill at some point.
Long Island Lutheran, No. 2
Kiyan Anthony, the 2025 four-star shooting guard from New York City, was a key reserve off the bench as a junior for Long Island Lutheran in 2023-24, when the Crusaders were a top-five national team. In 2024-25, as a senior, Anthony will prove a huge contributor to this powerhouse program. He was offered a scholarship by the Orange in November of 2022 and took an official visit to the 'Cuse last October.
St. Paul VI, No. 4
St. Paul VI finished as the runner-up to Montverde at the 2024 Chipotle Nationals held in April. One of the standouts for the Panthers is 2026 five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr., who picked up a scholarship offer from the Orange in May of 2023 and was scheduled to unofficially visit Syracuse basketball on June 7.
Gonzaga, No. 5
This past season, Gonzaga was a top-25 national group. In 2024-25, Hines and other experts are projecting the Eagles as a top-five to a top-10 team around the country. One of Gonzaga's leaders is 2025 four-star combo guard Derek Dixon, who was offered by SU in mid-June of last year and took an official visit to Syracuse basketball in late September of 2023.
Sidwell Friends, No. 25
Acaden Lewis, a 2025 four-star combo guard, had a sensational junior year for Sidwell Friends, which finished 2023-24 as a nationally ranked squad, with another national top-25 placement anticipated for the Quakers in 2024-25. Lewis, offered by the Orange in late April of this year, is emerging as a priority recruit for Syracuse basketball in the rising high school senior class. He has said he wants to visit the 'Cuse soon.