Syracuse Basketball: Experts discuss chances of 5-star recruits to win national title

Early next month, Syracuse basketball 2024 five-star commit Donnie Freeman and multiple Orange four-star and five-star recruiting targets will compete in a season-ending tournament that will crown a high school national champion for the 2023-24 campaign.

In that event, the undefeated and top-seeded Montverde Academy from Montverde, Fla., will be the favorite to cut down the nets. However, two high school hoops experts told me this week that other participants, some of which have 'Cuse connections, also have a shot at winning the ultimate prize.

From April 4 to April 6, the eight-team Chipotle Nationals will take place at Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg, Ind., near Indianapolis.

For Syracuse basketball recruiting enthusiasts, you'll want to monitor three invited groups: the No. 2 seed St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., the No. 4 seed Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., and the No. 7 seed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Freeman, a five-star power forward, is a standout at IMG. The Long Island Lutheran backcourt includes Orange recruits Nigel James, a 2025 four-star point guard, and Kiyan Anthony, a 2025 four-star shooting guard. St. Paul VI, meanwhile, features 'Cuse targets Jordan Smith Jr., a 2026 five-star shooting guard, and Anthony Brown, a talented 2026 point guard.

Experts weigh in on Syracuse basketball recruits at the 2024 Chipotle Nationals.

As background, here are the bracket and quarterfinal match-ups at this national championship tournament (click on this link for game dates and times, as well as television coverage details):
•No. 1 seed Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., vs. No. 8 seed AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz.

•No. 4 seed Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., vs. No. 5 seed Christopher Columbus High School in Miami

•No. 3 seed Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., vs. No. 6 seed Link Academy in Branson, Mo.

•No. 2 seed St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., vs. No. 7 seed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

I caught up with the X account 24/7 High School Hoops, and the consensus here is that Montverde is the favorite, but the Eagles could potentially get taken out by a few other contenders, including St. Paul VI, Prolific Prep, Long Island Lutheran and Columbus.

This expert told me that some of the keys to stunning Montverde are taking good care of the basketball, not allowing the Eagles to go on a massive scoring run, and rebounding effectively on both ends of the floor.

Naturally, I asked 24/7 High School Hoops about IMG's chances. He noted that while the Ascenders have a challenging draw that starts with St. Paul VI, Freeman and his IMG teammates have "size at basically every position. The only way they play Montverde is in the championship (game), but it’s not out of the question. Their road is just extremely tough."

Jordan Divens, the national basketball editor at MaxPreps, agreed that those who could give Montverde trouble include St. Paul VI, Prolific Prep and Columbus.

Divens said regarding IMG, "They are definitely a long shot but they are playing well as of late so could definitely make some noise."

For the Ascenders to do some damage at the Chipotle Nationals, IMG will need Freeman and 2025 five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. to play at a big-time level, according to Divens.