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All eyes on Tuurean Thompson for Syracuse Orange fans. This season has been a showcase in just how much big man depth means to SU basketball and ensuring that we don't find ourselves in a position like this again is huge. While Paschal Chukwu will keep us going next year, the Orange need another big man in the next recruiting class to compliment current commits Matthew Moyer and Tyus Battle and Thompson could be the perfect fit.
The four-star big man said he wouldn't make hs decision until the spring but that doesn't mean he wouldn't make A decision before that. He made the first of many decisions to come as he's whittled his list of schools down to four.
"I'm going with the schools I have now,'' Thompson said in an interview earlier this week. Thompson said the four remaining schools are Syracuse, Georgetown, Providence and Seton Hall.
Who says you can't have an old school Big East battle anymore?
Don't worry, though, Moyer is putting in the work to recruit Thompson even when the coaches can't.
"On the free-throw line, he elbowed me and said, 'Come on, let's go to Syracuse,''' Thompson said with a smile. "I said 'Let's focus on the game, bro.'''
Speaking of big men, if the Orange strike out with Thompson, they're apparently putting in some Plan B work by keeping an eye on 6'10" rising prospect Cheickna Dembele. The new arrival from Mali is playing for Scotland Performance Institute in Chambersburg, PA and has become a bit of a late-bloomer in the 2016 cycle with coaches from Providence, N.C. State, Iowa State, Missouri and elsewhere keeping tabs as well. At 234 pounds, he's filling out that big frame and is shooting 80% from the free throw line(!!!).
If you liked Rakeem Christmas, Dembele's coach says you'll love Cheickna.
"Cheick is more athletic than Rakeem,'' Dowling said. "He's more bouncy and maybe more rugged.''
Intriguing.