Since Gerry McNamara took the helm at Syracuse basketball in late March, he and his assistants have focused on their 2026-27 roster along with their recruiting efforts in the high school senior class.
The Orange may or may not be done with its 2027 cycle, as Inside the Loud House noted in a recent article. The 2026-27 season is right around the corner for the program and its fan base, but attention at some point will turn toward SU's recruiting in the 2028 class.
This past Friday morning, the 'Cuse scored a massive recruiting win when Bronx, N.Y., native Moussa Kamissoko verbally committed to Syracuse basketball, giving McNamara his second 2027 pledge, along with Albany product Jack Donohue, a three-star wing.
— Ben Lee (@Coach_BenLee) September 25, 2026
Over the past few days, since Kamissoko's commitment, Inside the Loud House has spoken to numerous analysts and scouts about this news. One consistent theme among these experts is that Kamissoko's verbal pledge to Syracuse basketball should give the Orange a recruiting jolt in future classes, namely, 2028 and 2029.
One key facet here that I want to stress is that Kamissoko, a five-star wing/small forward, committed to McNamara and his assistants before GMac has even coached a game for the 'Cuse. That speaks to Kamissoko's strong relationship with the Orange staff and his belief that McNamara will turn around SU, a storied college basketball program that hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2021 and has endured two straight losing seasons.
Syracuse basketball has recruiting momentum after picking up 2027 5-star Moussa Kamissoko.
Kamissoko is ranked as high as No. 7 nationally in the senior class by Rivals. Analysts tell Inside the Loud House that Kamissoko choosing the Orange is something that highly ranked prospects in other cycles will notice.
"This is a statement recruit for Gerry McNamara," ESPN's national recruiting director, Paul Biancardi, told Inside the Loud House.
However, it's vital that McNamara, in the upcoming 2026-27 campaign, wins games. He and his staff have to show the college basketball world that Syracuse basketball is back, because recruits want to play for winning programs.
Naturally, financial considerations will always be a potential issue for the Orange. While I don't have specifics, what I do hear from sources is that the 'Cuse can't offer the same kind of money in the form of rev-share and third-party NIL deals that many other heavyweight programs can.
Putting financial offers to the side, though, if Syracuse basketball tallies at least 20 victories in 2026-27 and contends for a Big Dance berth, having a five-star commitment in its 2027 class will only make the Orange more appealing to 2028 players, who are juniors in high school.
So far, Syracuse basketball has offered at least 15 guys in the 2028 cycle, and a bunch of them are rated five stars and inside the top 30 overall of this class. It's too early to know which 2028 targets the 'Cuse will prioritize, although one junior to monitor is four-star power forward Damian Mojica.
The Yonkers, N.Y., native unofficially visited SU over the summer, and last week, assistant coach Ben Lee was in for Mojica during an open gym at his high school, as first reported by Inside the Loud House.
Let's see how McNamara's first season as his alma mater's head coach pans out, but experts agree that Kamissoko's commitment to the 'Cuse is big time from a recruiting perspective.
"This is a major pickup for Syracuse, which beat out a handful of heavy hitters and high-profile, traditional high-major powers in the process," Zach Smart, a New York-based analyst and scout, told Inside the Loud House.
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