Syracuse Basketball: Matthew Moyer is Orange's Unofficial Social Media Recruiter

Matthew Moyer's Syracuse career is off to quite an interesting start.

The 6'8" senior forward from South Kent (Conn.) Prep is one half of the Orange's current 2016 recruiting class. He's rated 74th overall in his class by ESPN and Scout, and 59th by 247Sports. Last month, he was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year in Connecticut. His body size is sure to draw comparisons to the long line of long, lanky, athletic wingers to play for the Syracuse Orange.

And yet, six months before he will pull on the Syracuse jersey for the first time, Moyer is already making an impact on the future of Syracuse basketball. He's not doing so using his size, athleticism, or ability to get to the basket. For now, he's using perhaps the most powerful tool at his disposal: his Twitter handle.

This coming weekend, Syracuse will be hosting a trio of highly-ranked 2017 recruits: Hamidou Diallo, Quade Green, and Jordan Tucker. All three are ranked in the top 50 of ESPN's and Rivals' current rankings, so this is shaping up to be one of the most significant recruiting weekends in recent Syracuse basketball history.

And, guess who else will be making an appearance on campus this weekend? Matthew Moyer, of course. When he heard that Jordan Tucker would be visiting this weekend, he exchanged messages with him on Twitter:

Yea bro I'll be up at The Cuse it's gonna be a movie‼️ https://t.co/k3e9YrJRu6

— The Juice Man (@Therealjtucks) April 24, 2016

In addition, Moyer also announced his intentions to recruit Diallo and Green this weekend:

This weekend I gotta try and work some magic on @Q_Green1 & @Diallo1Hamidou

— Matthew Moyer (@matthewmoyer13) April 24, 2016

This sort of behavior is nothing new for Moyer. In fact, this will actually be the second time that he and Diallo will visit Syracuse together. They both came up to campus back in February for the North Carolina State game, where, in addition to attending the game, they toured the campus together, visited Marshall Street, and interacted with fans. When asked about their trip, Moyer had this to say:

"I think Hamidou had a great time (which Diallo himself later confirmed). I tried to throw my best pitch at him. He had a terrific time and I really believe it woke him up about what Syracuse is all about. Syracuse has the best fans in the country and Hamidou got to see that first hand. I know he's really considering us now. We had a great time together all day."

Last summer, when Moyer heard that Syracuse had offered a scholarship to Michael Porter Jr., the 3rd overall recruit in ESPN's 2017 class rankings, he immediately went to work trying to convince him to join the Orange.

"I would love to see him come to Syracuse...He's a great kid. We recruit high-character guys. I just feel that he's awesome. Awesome kid, awesome player. He's the full package and we need that at Syracuse."

Seriously, who is this kid? He's a high school senior, and he talks like he's already an assistant coach or recruiting director. Moyer's precocious nature, coupled with his social media acumen, have made him a dangerous weapon for Syracuse before he ever steps on the Carrier Dome court.

Moyer provides what Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse coaching staff can't: a recruiting perspective given from a peer. As a contemporary of Hamidou Diallo and others, Moyer can perhaps offer some opinions and advice that could have a different meaning coming from a friend then they do a coach on the team.

It should be noted that, to this moment, Moyer has not actually been successful in helping any fellow recruits to come to Syracuse - although the jury is still out on all of the 2017 recruits for whom he is lobbying.

Whether his amateur recruiting endeavors actually breed any success or not still remains to be seen, but regardless, it appears that Matthew Moyer is exactly the type of high-character player that he talked about himself when describing Porter Jr.

We'll have to wait and see what his impact is for Syracuse on the court, but Moyer has already done his job when it comes to impressing off the court.