Syracuse Basketball Recruiting: Syracuse Was 2017 5-Star's "Dream School" Until Sanctions

On Monday, Syracuse offered 2017 5-star Michael Porter Jr.. Yesterday, he spoke with Syracuse.com's Donna Ditota on his recruitment, interest in Syracuse and more.

One thing is for certain, Syracuse fans can thank Matthew Moyer, the lone 2016 commit, for directing Porter Jr. towards Syracuse. As reported earlier this week, Moyer deserves the credit for the Orange landing on the 5-star's list. The Syracuse commit forced Porter Jr. to call Syracuse Orange assistant Gerry McNamara. The phone conversation eventually led to a scholarship offer.

Now that we can officially call Michael a Syracuse target, where do the Orange stand? Well, it's not a great start. "That [Syracuse] used to be my dream school until I heard about their violations or whatever," he told Ditota. "I don't really know what they did."

He described his game as a taller guard, despite being listed as a small forward on most recruiting databases. Standing at 6-foot-9, Porter Jr. can just about do it all. He can shoot, drive, post-up, dish it and finish around the basket.

According to Ditota, the 5-star G/F heard from Baylor, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and UAB on June 15th, which was the first day college coaches could contact class of 2017 recruits directly.

It wasn't all bad for the Orange. The Father Tolton Catholic product also said he still likes Syracuse, "I like the school, and I like the style. I can see myself playing in that environment. They've always been one of my favorite schools."

You can bet that Matthew Moyer will be resilient during this recruitment. "I would love to see him come to Syracuse," Moyer told Ditota. "He's a great kid. We recruit high-character guys." He continued, "He's the full package and we need that at Syracuse."