Top expert Paul Biancardi is high on the teams of two Syracuse basketball 2025 commits as the 2024-25 season gets underway in prep hoops.
Biancardi, the recruiting director for ESPN and an all-around good guy, recently unveiled his top 25 in high school basketball as the 2024-25 campaign is upon us.
Two powerhouse programs that Biancardi has in his national top 10 at the onset of this season are Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., and the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Both of those juggernauts compete in arguably the country's top high school hoops conference, the 14-member Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic ("EYBL Scholastic").
Preseason ESPN High School Boys’ Basketball team rankings, per @PaulBiancardi 🏀
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In his initial top 25, Biancardi places Long Island Lutheran at No. 3, while IMG checks in at No. 9. Orange recruiting fanatics will certainly want to pay attention to these two groups throughout 2024-25.
Syracuse basketball commits Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White reside on highly rated teams.
Last week, 2025 four-star shooting guard and top-30 national prospect Kiyan Anthony committed to the Orange over Southern California, a huge recruiting win for head coach Adrian Autry and his top-flight staff.
The 6-foot-5 Anthony, a senior at Long Island Lutheran, is expected to be a significant contributor for the Crusaders in 2024-25. In fact, Biancardi recently told me via phone that for Long Island Lutheran to contend for an EYBL Scholastic crown and a return trip to the eight-team Chipotle Nationals, "Kiyan has to be a big part for LuHi."
In late May, the 'Cuse received a pledge from 2025 five-star forward and top-15 national prospect Sadiq White Jr., who picked Syracuse basketball over other finalists Alabama, Southern California, Georgetown, LSU, Tennessee and Texas.
The 6-foot-8 White is spending his senior year at IMG. The Ascenders, according to Biancardi and other high school hoops experts whom I've spoken with of late, are also a significant contender for an EYBL Scholastic title and another berth in the Chipotle Nationals.
Key to IMG's success in 2024-25 will be the play of White, particularly on the defensive end, the boards, in the paint and out in transition, experts say.
Biancardi's top 25 also includes St. Paul VI Catholic High School from Chantilly, Va., which is No. 23 overall. A standout for the Panthers is All-American Jordan Smith Jr., a five-star shooting guard and a top-10 national prospect in the 2026 cycle who unofficially visited the Orange in late September of this year.
St. Paul VI was the runner-up at the most recent Chipotle Nationals in Brownsburg, Ind., and some high school analysts tell me that either the Panthers or Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. - both members of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference ("WCAC") - could be in the running for a bid to the 2025 Chipotle Nationals, which will transpire next spring.
The Syracuse basketball 2025 class, which features White, Anthony, four-star guard Luke Fennell from Melbourne, Australia, and three-star wing Aaron Womack from the Milwaukee area, is currently ranked No. 8 nationally, per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.