Syracuse Basketball: D.C. recruiting ties critical in pursuit of 4-star Acaden Lewis

If Syracuse basketball coaches are going to ultimately win out for fast-rising 2025 four-star guard Acaden Lewis, the staff's strong recruiting connections in the talent-rich Washington, D.C., market will likely prove a big reason why.

In recent days, the 6-foot-3 Lewis disclosed a top eight of the Orange, Kentucky, two-time defending national champion UConn, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Michigan and Auburn.

Needless to say, the competition to prevail for Lewis, a top-40 national prospect in the rising high school senior class who is trending toward five-star status, is intense.

Media reports this week have stated Lewis plans to officially visit all of his finalists. He has an official visit scheduled to North Carolina in early October, and I've been able to confirm as well that Lewis does plan to officially visit the Orange.

Lewis stars for the Sidwell Friends School in D.C. On the AAU circuit, he suits up for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball will rely on its deep ties to the DMV in pursuing 4-star Acaden Lewis.

The Orange staff offered a scholarship to Lewis in late April of this year. Ever since then, as far as I can tell, 'Cuse coaches have recruited him extremely hard.

For example, in May, head coach Adrian Autry was in attendance for Lewis during a live period on the AAU circuit. In late June, by extension, the Syracuse basketball staff watched Lewis in person as he played for Sidwell Friends in a scholastic evaluation period.

Autry, assistant coach Brenden Straughn and new assistant coach Dan Engelstad all have strong recruiting connections in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan regions. Their relationships run deep both among high school programs and AAU teams.

Over the years, many highly rated prospects from the D.C. and Baltimore areas have suited up on the Hill, whether it's Carmelo Anthony, C.J. Fair, Jerami Grant and Judah Mintz, among numerous others. Incoming freshman Donnie Freeman is a 2024 five-star power forward from our nation's capital.

To that end, in various interviews, Lewis has noted the Orange staff's recruiting focus on the DMV. In a recent interview with top writer Charlie Parent on zagsblog.com, Lewis said, "Coach [Red] Autry got in a little early before my stock really started to rise and I always appreciate those schools who have seen me before others. They’ve expressed that they’re big fans of my game and that I could fit into my system. They love their DMV guys as well; Syracuse is known for a lot of their guards from this area, [like] Judah Mintz [who] just went to the draft."

Lewis speaks highly of Autry, Straughn and Engelstad. In late May, during an interview with top national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw of On3, Lewis mentioned that Straughn was recruiting him when he was an assistant coach at George Washington, before coming on board with the 'Cuse.

Trying to beat out the likes of blue-bloods UConn, Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke is a tall task. Both Auburn and Tennessee are excellent Southeastern Conference programs. Lewis has family ties to Detroit, so Michigan is also a legit contender.

My point here is that all of Lewis' eight finalists are terrific. If the Orange doesn't prevail here, it would be understandable. However, the Syracuse basketball staff is clearly putting in the work to show Lewis that he's a top priority for the team in the 2025 cycle.

And those profound recruiting connections that 'Cuse coaches possess in the D.C. market, hopefully, will prove advantageous in their pursuit of Lewis.