Chris Bunch Commits to Syracuse
Class of 2022 Alamo (CA) Wasatch Academy forward Chris Bunch has committed to Syracuse basketball, he announced on Thursday. The 6-8, 190 pound forward picked the Orange over his other finalists Rutgers and Washington. Bunch also held offers from Arkansas, Florida State, Iowa State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, San Diego State, Seton Hall, SMU, South Carolina and USC, among others.
EVALUATION: WHAT SYRACUSE IS GETTING IN CHRIS BUNCH
Bunch took official visits to each of his three finalists, including Syracuse twice. He visited the Orange and Rutgers over the summer, and then Washington followed by a second Syracuse trip in fall. When he trimmed his list to those three, Bunch originally set a commitment date for October 31st.However, he recently elected to move up to the 21st, where he announced his decision to attend Syracuse.
During his official visits, the Syracuse coaching staff made it clear how they envision him fitting the system. They view him as a prototypical Syracuse forward who can score the ball at all three levels.
“Talking to them and watching some film in the film room, basically it’s me coming in and them putting me in my spots to score,” Bunch said after his first Syracuse official visit. “Me coming in immediately as a freshman, being a priority. They told me multiple times I’m really the only kid at the position that they’re recruiting hard. I’m who they want. I’m their priority. Just coming in and, maybe not being the number one guy, but being a scorer.”
His relationship with the Syracuse staff played a big role in his final decision. It was during his official visits that he got to see a different side of head coach Jim Boeheim.
“He’s a great coach, but the one thing from meeting him, talking to him is he’s an even better person as I got to talk to him and be around him a lot,” Bunch said after the first visit. “He really just cares about basketball and his kids, trying to get better. He’s a players coach too. Syracuse isn’t, how a lot of people say, a coach driven team. It’s a players driven team. Players when they play, he lets them go. It’s up to them how they play. That’s one thing I really got from being at Syracuse.”
Bunch gives Syracuse five players in its 2022 recruiting class. He joins point guard Quadir Copeland, shooting guard Justin Taylor, power forward Maliq Brown and center Peter Carey.