As you already know, the Syracuse Orange have a lot of spots to fill on the basketball roster for 2017. A couple weeks back, we ran down a list of notable names Jim Boeheim & Co. were pursuing. That’s far from exhaustive, however.
Another player you can add to the watch list? Billy Preston.
The five-star forward is an Oak Hill Academy product, though he’s originally from Santa Ana, Calif. (Orange County). You may recall Oak Hill as prep school powerhouse that’s produced the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Eric Devendorf and a host of other NBA and collegiate stars.
According to Adam Zagoria, Preston has opened up his recruitment and has his list to five schools: Syracuse, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland and hometown USC. Zagoria mentions he’ll be attending Kansas’s Midnight Madness-type event “Late Night in the Phog.” Preston also mentions his talks with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, and the fact that he visits USC frequently when in L.A.
Preston’s 12th overall on the 247Sports composite rankings, and is surrounded on both sides by 2017 names Syracuse fans should be familiar with by now (Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Lonnie Walker, etc.). He’s a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward, though he could probably play the three or four for the Orange, depending on the needs of next year’s team.
***
Syracuse has yet to secure a commitment for 2017, which is sort of worrisome. But the situation is far from dire yet. Just six of the top 25 recruits in the country have pledged to a school thus far. Plenty of time for SU to round out its class before National Signing Day.