Monday Musings: Basketball & Football Recruiting Intel

The latest for Syracuse basketball and football recruiting.

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1. Drew Fielder

The 2023 big is set to announce his decision today. Providence is the expected choice. He was supposed to take an official visit to Syracuse this coming weekend, but that trip will no longer take place. The visit to Providence almost did not happen, but he decided to go through with it. That visit went well enough that he did not feel the need to visit other schools. A tough blow for Syracuse. William Patterson is still available with the Orange in pursuit, but Syracuse views him as a center and was looking at Fielder as more of a power forward type. Expect Syracuse to reevaluate options and move forward from there.

2. Mike Williams

The official visit to Syracuse went very well. He seemed genuinely impressed by what the Orange offer in terms of program, style of play, culture, facilities and fan base. I would put Syracuse as the front runner right now. However, the visit to LSU would make me a bit nervous. If Will Wade was still there, given his reputation, they could be a factor. It remains to be seen if new head coach Matt McMahon will have a similar approach. 

3. Naquil Betrand

Unfortunately for Syracuse, 2023 offensive lineman Naquil Betrand did not make it for the game against Purdue due to unforeseen circumstances. The Texas A&M commit did watch the game, however. Syracuse remains in constant communication and is recruiting him extremely hard. 

4. Purdue Visitors

The visits over the weekend went very well with nearly two dozen recruits in attendance. The Dome atmosphere definitely made an impression. The crowd has been really loud and engaged in each of the first two games. That is helping Syracuse's recruiting efforts. It may be difficult to replicate the number of visitors against Virginia because most recruits have high school games Friday nights. Still, these visits should pay dividends in the 2024 and 2025 classes.