Syracuse Basketball: 'Cuse showing interest in 4-star transfer, a Minnesota big man

Syracuse basketball is among numerous teams reportedly showing interest in Pharrel Payne, a sophomore forward at Big Ten Conference school Minnesota who is in the transfer portal.

The X account The Portal Report said in a social media post that a wide range of schools is displaying interest in the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Payne, who was rated a four-star prospect coming out of high school and is also ranked as a four-star transfer this off-season, according to several recruiting services.

Per the post on X from The Portal Report, others showing interest in Payne include Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Arkansas, Providence, Ole Miss, Colorado, Iowa State, Illinois, Florida, Georgetown, Texas A&M, Butler and Oregon, among others.

The current transfer-portal window opened on Monday, March 18, and it will run for 45 days. To date, several Orange players on the team's 2023-24 roster have entered the portal, and 'Cuse coaches have reached out to a handful of guys who intend to transfer out of their existing programs.

Syracuse basketball has reached out to Minnesota forward Pharrel Payne, a four-star transfer.

Minnesota, in 2023-24, finished at 19-15 overall, losing earlier this month in the NIT's second round to Indiana State. In that setback, Payne tallied 16 points and eight rebounds.

Per ESPN data, as a sophomore for the Golden Gophers, he appeared in 32 contests. Payne averaged 23.3 minutes, 10.0 points, 6.1 boards, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks per affair, while connecting on 60.2 percent from the field but just 47.2 percent from the free-throw line.

As a member of the 2022 recruiting cycle, the Cottage Grove, Minn., native starred for Park High School in Cottage Grove. Within that class, 247Sports placed Payne as a top-125 national prospect, a top-25 power forward and a top-five player coming out of Minnesota.

According to recruiting Web sites, while in high school, his offer sheet also included schools such as Appalachian State, Drake, Saint Louis, Texas A&M and UC Santa Barbara, among others. I'm not aware of Syracuse basketball coaches recruiting Payne in the past.

When I wrote this article on Friday evening, in its national transfer ratings, On3 had him as four stars and No. 67 across the country.

Per national analysts, besides Payne, other players in the portal who have heard from the Orange of late include Milwaukee junior wing BJ Freeman, Hofstra junior point guard Jaquan Carlos, Mount St. Mary's senior guard Dakota Leffew and UNC Greensboro senior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones.

At least four 2023-24 players for Syracuse basketball have decided to transfer. They are sophomore center Peter Carey, sophomore guard/wing Quadir Copeland, sophomore guard/wing Justin Taylor, and junior forward Benny Williams, who was dismissed from the program in early February.