The 2025 NBA Draft got going on Wednesday night, and no former Syracuse basketball players were selected in the first round. Of course, this isn't a surprise to anyone.
Yet the Orange appears to be caught in the middle of an NBA Draft slump. Former 'Cuse wing Elijah Hughes, who this summer will suit up for Boeheim's Army in the annual The Basketball Tournament, was the last Orange guy picked in the NBA Draft, in the second round back in 2020.
To make it sting more, as Syracuse.com Hall of Famer Writer Mike Waters noted, Syracuse basketball's recent absence from the NBA Draft is one of the longer dry spells among its Atlantic Coast Conference peers.
Might the 'Cuse get back in the mix for the 2026 NBA Draft? Well, that depends. Starting guard J.J. Starling, the Central New York native, will be a senior this coming season. If he shines, perhaps he's a draft candidate.
The same goes for rising sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman, who was a five-star, top-10 national prospect in the 2024 class but missed more than half of his freshman term due to an injury. Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George, a rising junior, has been hailed as one of the ACC's best point guards. Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim said earlier this week that he thinks George is the league's top PG.
Incoming freshmen Sadiq White Jr, a forward, and Kiyan Anthony, a shooting guard, are top-35 overall players in the 2025 cycle, although I don't necessarily envision either bolting after their freshman stanzas on the Hill.
Former Syracuse basketball recruits went in the first round on Wednesday evening.
The 2025 NBA Draft, consisting of two rounds, is taking place in Brooklyn, N.Y. In the first round, two talented freshmen big men, who held 'Cuse scholarship offers while in high school, were chosen.
With the 13th overall pick, the Atlanta Hawks were in a trade with New Orleans, and the Pelicans picked Maryland center Derik Queen, a Baltimore product who was recruited by Syracuse basketball. Queen was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class who won a high school national title with the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.
At No. 15 overall, the Oklahoma City Thunder, which just won the NBA championship in seven games over the Indiana Pacers, selected fellow center Thomas Sorber, who hails from Trenton, N.J. Sorber, a four-star player in the 2024 cycle, competed in the Orange's annual Elite Camp, and there was also some chatter at one point that he wanted to visit Syracuse basketball again.
In terms of ESPN's best available looking ahead to the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday night, three names with previous Syracuse basketball ties caught my eye. They include Alabama graduate student center Clifford Omoruyi and Texas senior wing Arthur Kaluma, both of whom were also pursued by the 'Cuse in the past.
Additionally, another name to watch is former Syracuse basketball guard Kadary Richmond, who was excellent this past season as a graduate student at St. John's. After leaving the Hill, Richmond played for three years at Seton Hall before moving to St. John's, which is led by former 'Cuse assistant and Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino.