Syracuse Basketball: As 4-star Shon Abaev set to visit, an update on his recruitment

Fast-rising Shon Abaev, who was one of the best all-around performers in the most recent AAU season earlier this spring and summer, is scheduled to take an official visit to Syracuse basketball this weekend.

The 6-foot-8 Abaev, a four-star wing/small forward and a top-40 national prospect in the 2025 class, has been praised time and time again in recent months by analysts and scouts for his versatile scoring prowess.

Abaev's official visit to the Orange coincides with Syracuse football kicking off its 2024 season this Saturday afternoon, when the 'Cuse will host non-conference foe Ohio at the JMA Wireless Dome in the first game with first-year head coach Fran Brown at the helm of the program.

I certainly hope that if Orange fans see Shon on the Hill this weekend, they show him a lot of love!

A standout rising senior at the Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Abaev was electric this spring and summer while starring for the 17U team of the Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based SOH Elite in the Under Armour Association ("UAA") league. He was offered a scholarship by the 'Cuse in late April of this year.

Syracuse basketball is set to host 2025 four-star prospect Shon Abaev on an official visit.

Let's dive into Abaev's recruitment. Earlier on, he took official visits to Georgia, Arizona State, Oregon and Tennessee. Last weekend, he made a trip to Dayton.

After officially visiting Syracuse basketball, Abaev plans to officially visit Southern California, Maryland, Auburn and Cincinnati. By my count, that would amount to a total of 10 official visits.

At this juncture, there are no analyst predictions on recruiting Web sites related to Abaev's recruitment, which isn't a surprise, given he still has numerous official visits to take.

Additionally, as I noted in another recent column, Duke and Arkansas are showing an interesting him; those powerhouse programs are expected to be in attendance for Abaev at his high school during open gyms when the fall recruiting period commences next month.

Abaev, in several recent interviews, has said that he's developed a strong relationship with Orange head coach Adrian Autry, which is encouraging.

Lately, I've poked around a little bit and asked some recruiting insiders who I speak with regularly about Abaev. I do not have inside information on his recruitment, but people who I talk to say there isn't necessarily a clear-cut favorite for him at this point, and that more clarity will arrive as he takes his remaining official visits.

Naturally, Autry and his top-flight staff will want to hit a home run this weekend when they have Abaev in Central New York for an official visit.

When I wrote this article on Wednesday evening, Auburn had a slight lead for Abaev, according to On3's recruiting prediction machine, although a lot of teams are bunched together not far behind, including Syracuse basketball. From what I've been recently told, the Tigers appear to be in a good position with Abaev.

Other suitors that may prove the biggest competition for the 'Cuse to ultimately prevail for Abaev include Dayton, where he just officially visited, along with Arizona State and perhaps Cincinnati.

To reiterate, though, Abaev doesn't seem to be in a super big rush to make a college decision. And with so many visits having already taken place and coming up soon, his recruitment could ebb and flow quickly.

The biggest key for the Orange coaching staff is to wow Abaev this weekend and go from there.