Monday Musings: Syracuse Basketball Recruiting Notes

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1. Jalil Bethea

Syracuse continues to pursue the 2024 guard extremely hard. The Orange is in constant contact led by assistant Gerry McNamara. Bethea is one of the best shooters in the class and Syracuse would love to pair him with Elijah Moore. That would give SU two of the elite shooters in the class. The 6-4 guard is considered a top 80 recruit by various services and also has Rutgers, UCLA, Villanova and others in pursuit. Syracuse hosted him for an official visit in October and is looking to get him back on campus before the season ends if it can be worked out logistically with his schedule. Stay tuned.

2. Marcus Adams

There is no question that Adams is blowing up. He has picked up offers from Washington, Tennessee, Xavier, Kansas State, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansas, USC and UCLA over the last week. This after releasing a top five of UCLA, Oregon, Syracuse, Mississippi State and Texas two weeks ago. Syracuse hosted the 6-8 forward for an official visit the weekend of the Virginia game and made a big impression. In fact, SU seemed to be the favorite at that point. While the Orange is still heavily involved, the recent attention likely solidifies that a decision is not coming this month as stated after the visit. He will likely take the spring to visit other schools and reevaluate his situation at that point. Most are offering Adams for 2024, while Syracuse will take him in either 2023 or 2024. If Adams wants to be in 2023, Syracuse is in a stronger position. We will see how this plays out, but the competition has become even more stiff for the Orange.

3. Damarius Owens

Damarius Owens, a 6-8 forward in the 2024 class and Rochester (NY) native, put Syracuse in his top three along with Marquette and Virginia Tech. Owens has officially visited both Syracuse and Marquette but has not visited the Hokies. Syracuse has not been actively involved in this recruitment for a couple of months, which makes Marquette the likely choice when he announces on February 15th.