Syracuse Basketball: 'Cuse staff has DMV ties to Duke PG transfer Jeremy Roach

Duke senior point guard Jeremy Roach, who hails from the talent-rich Washington, D.C., market, is a prospect whom I'd love to see Syracuse basketball coaches pursue, although I acknowledge this is a huge long shot and probably not going to happen.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Roach said in a recent post on Instagram that he plans to enter the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility and also entering the transfer portal. He would have one season of collegiate eligibility left.

Once this news broke, I saw a lot of comments from my fellow Orange fans expressing hope that the 'Cuse coaching staff would make a run at Roach. College basketball insider Adam Zagoria said in an article that the leaders for Roach at this time include St. John’s, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Assuming he stays in college, Roach will be highly sought-after. He had a solid senior season for the Blue Devils, which reached the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Roach, in the 2020 class, was a five-star, top-25 national prospect and a McDonald’s All-American who starred for a powerhouse high school program in Northern Virginia.

Syracuse basketball coaches have DMV connections to Duke PG transfer Jeremy Roach.

In 2023-24, as Duke went 27-9 overall and finished ranked No. 9 in the country, Roach averaged 14.0 points, 3.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, while connecting on 46.8 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point land and 84.4 percent from the free-throw line, according to ESPN data.

This past March, Roach was named to the All-ACC third team.

As an elite national prospect in the 2020 class, he was a standout at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., which is one of the top high school programs around the country. On the AAU circuit, Roach suited up for the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike's EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry served as an assistant at St. Paul VI a while back. Additionally, both Autry and 'Cuse assistant coach Brenden Straughn were previously assistants with the Team Takeover program.

So far this off-season, as the transfer portal opened on Monday, March 18, and will run for 45 days, at least six players from the Orange's 2023-24 roster have hit the portal, while sophomore point guard Judah Mintz is headed to the 2024 NBA Draft.

The 'Cuse, ahead of 2024-25, has two incoming freshmen, and the team has also landed a four-star transfer center and a four-star transfer forward. Finding a lead guard is likely a top priority for Syracuse basketball coaches these days.

Mount St. Mary's senior guard Dakota Leffew, himself a four-star transfer, visited the Orange last weekend and has the Orange in his top six.

On a somewhat related note, Syracuse basketball sophomore big man Maliq Brown, a four-star transfer, was reportedly going to visit the Blue Devils from Wednesday until Friday of this week.