Syracuse Basketball: 5-star recruit, PG target exquisite season in loaded D.C. league

The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) is one of the premier high school hoops leagues around the country, and several Syracuse basketball recruits have put forth excellent 2023-24 seasons for the WCAC’s two best teams.

St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., won the WCAC post-season tournament on Monday night, after finishing the 2023-24 regular season undefeated in conference competition. That’s remarkable.

Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., finished in second place of the WCAC standings during the regular season and advanced to the championship game of the WCAC tournament.

Both St. Paul VI and Gonzaga feature 2023-24 rosters that include talented players who hold scholarship offers from the ‘Cuse coaching staff.

Syracuse basketball targets were excellent in the loaded WCAC.

St. Paul VI, a top-five national group to date this term, is a big-time contender to receive an invite to this spring’s GEICO Nationals, several high school hoops experts recently told me.

The Panthers’ 2023-24 line-up includes 2026 five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. and fast-rising 2026 point guard Anthony Brown.

Smith, a top-10 national prospect in the sophomore cycle, received an Orange scholarship offer in May of last year and has said he’s interested in visiting the ‘Cuse at some point.

Brown, an under-rated sophomore, picked up a Syracuse basketball offer in late August of 2023, around the time that he took an unofficial visit to the Hill to compete in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp.

Throughout the 2023-24 stanza, Gonzaga has been ranked in the top 20 nationally, according to various media outlets. One of the backcourt standouts for the Eagles is 2025 four-star combo guard Derek Dixon.

Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to Dixon in mid-June of last year. In late September of 2023, he went on an official visit to the ‘Cuse.

From last Thursday until Monday evening, the WCAC tournament took place, with St. Paul VI the No. 1 seed and Gonzaga the No. 2 seed.

By the way, the X account Capitol Hoops noted that the Syracuse basketball coaching staff was in attendance at this annual event.

Throughout the tournament, these Orange recruits had some strong performances. For example, in a quarterfinal victory for Gonzaga, Dixon tallied 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

Smith, in a semifinal triumph for St. Paul VI, collected 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. By the way, national analysts and scouts also praise Smith for his tremendous defensive instincts.

On Monday night, in the WCAC tournament championship game at American University in D.C., St. Paul VI prevailed over Gonzaga, 63-51, according to statistics provided by Legit Sport Stats.

In the setback, Dixon connected on 6-of-12 from the field and produced 15 points. For St. Paul VI, Smith went 6-of-8 from the field, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Per posts on X from Capitol Hoops, the 2023-24 WCAC first team includes Dixon, while Smith was included on the second squad.