Syracuse Orange basketball got some positive news on Wednesday, when two of the team’s three 2018 verbal commits signed their national letters of intent.
In the least surprising news ever, Buddy Boeheim signed early, as announced by Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith. Juli Boeheim is obviously the signature on that sheet, since it would be odd for Jim Boeheim to grant permission to his own recruit.
Brewster Academy guard @Buddy_Boeheim35 has signed his NLI with @Cuse_MBB. Paperwork has been emailed to mother for her signature #Cuse #Orange pic.twitter.com/IiqrPHAsjC
— Jason Smith (@BrewsterHoops) November 8, 2017
Also in the fold today is five-star forward Darius Bazley. The Cincinnati star made it official with a ceremony at his school, Princeton High School.
Fellow 2018 recruit Jalen Carey will also be committing this week. His father announced that will come on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
As we’ve mentioned before, the sky isn’t falling at Syracuse, even if the 2017 recruiting cycle whiffed on a few big names. With Bazley, Boeheim and (shortly) Carey in the fold, the 2018 class is already a top 15-20 class (at least) and can continue climbing with another addition.
The commitment of a player the caliber of Bazley was as sure a sign as any that the Orange are just fine on the recruiting front -- and his flip from Ohio State back in July provied ample time for SU to further build momentum. While no one ever doubted Buddy Boeheim’s odds of playing at Syracuse once his stock went up, his addition created further positives for the program.
And of course, we’d like thank an FBI scandal for helping provide that final nudge that Jalen Carey might have needed when he committed in October. With a point guard in the fold, the Orange can spend the remainder of the signing period looking for a big man. And if they don’t get one, they can always look to the grad transfer market instead next offseason.
Congratulations to Buddy and Darius, and we’ll provide a separate update on Jalen tomorrow when he signs.