The frenetic off-season for Syracuse basketball and its peers nationwide is basically underway, and word broke on Friday that a 'Cuse player plans to enter the transfer portal.
Top national reporter Joe Tipton of On3 said via X that Orange redshirt junior guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. will enter the portal. Per the NCAA, the transfer portal window for men's basketball will run from March 24 to April 22.
First and foremost, I'm wishing Kyle nothing but the best moving forward. He seems like a terrific young man. That being said, I'm at least a little surprised that the 6-foot-2, 188-pound Cuffe, who hails from Harlem in New York City, is hitting the portal.
NEWS: Syracuse guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. will enter the transfer portal, his NIL Rep Trevor Harris of Devore Sports Group tells @On3sports.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 21, 2025
The 6-2 junior averaged 5.1 PPG this season. Began his career at Kansas. https://t.co/ctV8bXtM0q pic.twitter.com/5tZWjYA9U9
Then again, I'm not privy to the discussions he's had with Orange coaches, and it's not clear to me whether this was a mutual decision for Cuffe to enter the portal, or whether it was driven by the 'Cuse staff or him.
Syracuse basketball guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. will enter the transfer portal.
In the recently completed 2024-25 season, as the Orange finished at 14-19 overall, Cuffe appeared in 30 games. He averaged 12.4 minutes, 5.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest, while Cuffe made 33.1 percent from the field, 30.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 78.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Sure, those aren't mind-boggling numbers, but in numerous contests throughout 2024-25, Cuffe provided a key spark off the bench. He's a high-energy guy, extremely athletic and, from my perspective, was one of the team's better defenders this past term, amid an area where Syracuse basketball mightily struggled in 2024-25.
This past stanza, the 'Cuse had 12 scholarship players. Those who have exhausted their college eligibility include senior point guard Jaquan Carlos, graduate student center Eddie Lampkin Jr., senior guard/wing Lucas Taylor, senior center Naheem McLeod and senior forward Jyare Davis.
Aside from Cuffe, Syracuse basketball 2024-25 players who have collegiate eligibility left are junior guard J.J. Starling, junior small forward Chris Bell, freshman power forward Donnie Freeman, freshman forward Petar Majstorovic, freshman guard Elijah Moore and redshirt sophomore guard/wing Chance Westry.
At the prep level, the program's highly ranked 2025 class features four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, four-star forward Sadiq White Jr., four-star combo guard Luke Fennell and three-star wing Aaron Womack.
I'll monitor what other current 'Cuse players may join Cuffe in the portal, as well as college transfers from other teams who might end up getting pursued by Syracuse basketball coaches this off-season.