Analyzing Syracuse Basketball's 2022 Class After Carey's Commitment
To say the 2022 recruiting cycle has been strange for Syracuse men’s basketball would be an understatement. Starting with the rollercoaster that was the Dior Johnson commitment, and continuing to Kamari Lands committing and then rethinking things, there have certainly been highs and lows for Jim Boeheim and his staff as they look to build for the future.
And while things may not be shaking out exactly as many had hoped - particularly with the early additions of Johnson and, later, Lands - there’s still plenty to like about the way this year’s class is shaping up.
Let’s cut right to the chase: for now, this year’s class lacks the big headliner. We all know this. Dior would have been the biggest headliner possible for the Orange, but while he’s currently committed to Oregon, it sure seems likely he’ll wind up foregoing the college hoops experience entirely. Kamari is a legitimate NBA talent and would have immediately been a star in Syracuse’s system, but that ship has sailed and Syracuse and its fans have moved on and accepted that separation.
Still, Syracuse now has three very solid, high-upside players committed to its class of 2022 with the potential to bring in even more. Today, Syracuse landed the 6-foot-11 Peter Carey, who may be a little under the radar, but shows an incredible amount of promise and potential. Right now, that’s the common theme with Jim Boeheim’s current recruiting class.
Now, who is to say what will happen moving forward with the class of 2022. Obviously, until pen is put to paper, there’s no guarantee anyone currently committed will play for the Orange. And even when they do, there’s even less of a guarantee they’ll pan out as major contributors to the program’s success moving forward. But the potential is there. The talent is there. And there’s still plenty of meat on the bone for the coaching staff when it comes to rounding out this year’s class.
Since Carey is the latest to commit, let’s begin with him. The Massachusetts native is a long, rangey big man who, should be put on enough weight, could anchor the middle of the zone but is athletic enough to defend on the wing of the 2-3. Syracuse has certainly had its fair share of athletic seven footers in the past, but Carey doesn’t just have hops; he has explosiveness. Looking at some of his highlights, it’s clear he’s a fluid athlete with plenty of quickness and dexterity. He’s got good hands. He can finish through traffic. He’s got a hell of a motor, but he plays under control. Yes, he may be a little raw on the offensive end of the court, but he’s got a chance to be a big-time factor both defensively and on the glass. Given his length and athleticism, combined with his aggressiveness, he could wind up being an animal on the boards.
Justin Taylor, meanwhile, has terrific size for a wing player but struggled to shoot the rock this summer on the EYBL circuit. Like Carey, he’s a good athlete, but given the comparisons to Buddy Boeheim people are going to focus on his three point shooting. Personally, I think those comparisons are misguided. He’s not the same kind of spot-up, knock-down perimeter shooter that Buddy is. Let’s be honest, very few people are or ever will be. But where Taylor thrives is off the dribble, and scoring at each level. He may not develop into the next Klay Thompson, but that’s not what Syracuse needs. To me, he’s always looked an awful lot like Tyler Herro. He’s a bucket-getter, and with the right people around him, he could become a reliable scorer both attacking the rim and in the midrange against ACC competition.
But who will get both Taylor and Carey the rock? Well, Quadir Copeland, for starters. Copeland has tremendous size at the point guard position, to the point where, upon watching many, many of his highlights, I came away thinking he could easily transition to small forward should the need ever arise. He’s big, he’s strong, and he’s a solid athlete who can finish through contact around the bucket. His handle isn’t quite as tight as you’d like it to be for a top level point guard recruit, but his pure physicality makes up for that and enables him to protect the ball where smaller players would struggle.
Obviously, Syracuse still has irons in the fire. Chris Bunch and JJ Starling are difference makers, and both are very realistic options for the Orange in the class of ‘22. Bunch would give Syracuse a versatile and athletic wing to, at least to an extent, offset the loss of Lands. Starling, on the other hand, would immediately become the headliner. At 6-foot-3 with incredible scoring talent, Starling is an elite prospect, and being from the Syracuse area, he would be a feather in the cap of Boeheim and his staff. Syracuse has often done well locking up local kids, but there are certainly some notable misses, including Greg Paulus and Isaiah Stewart.
There’s certainly a ton of potential with this 2022 class for the Syracuse basketball program. Adding players like Bunch and Starling would push it from being a solid class to being an excellent one, and keep the Orange in contention for being ranked among the top third of the ACC standings. Benny Williams is a heck of a talent, but at this point, I’m expecting two years given the logjam at forward. Pair him with players like Carey, Copeland, Taylor, and potentially Bunch and Starling, not to mention the returning roster that includes guys like Joe Girard, Cole Swider, Symir Torrence, and Jesse Edwards, and you’re seeing the pieces of a contender starting to form like Voltron.
Which is to say, we’re officially claiming Voltron as part of the Syracuse nation. Anywhere there’s a giant robotic lion? Home game. We don’t make the rules. We just follow them.