Syracuse basketball recruiting: Osun Osunniyi makes decision on Monday

Following Darius Bazley’s decision to forego playing for the Syracuse Orange, the men’s basketball staff has been busy finding options to fill the big man’s spot in the 2018 recruiting class.

This past weekend, three-star prospect Robert Braswell committed to SU (and later signed his national letter of intent). Next Monday, we’ll find out if Osun Osunniyi joins him.

Syracuse.com spoke with Osunniyi’s coach at Putnam Science Academy (in Connecticut) and reported that he’d narrowed his choices to three schools, and set a decision date of this coming Monday (May 21). After making his visits, he’ll pick between Syracuse, the Georgetown Hoyas and St. Bonaventure Bonnies.

Now if you’re asking us, this seems like a pretty easy decision. One of those schools is completely unpalatable. And the other didn’t honor their contracts once they got to the NCAA Tournament, bowing out in the first round. We’d say the same for the Hoyas, but they’re not all that good at getting to March Madness of late... (and when they do? Well, you know)

Osunniyi is 6-foot-10 and just 185 pounds. So while he certainly has the height to play center in the zone, he’ll need to add some weight. Like Braswell, he’s a late-bloomer and more of a potential project than a day one contributor. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however. We could use depth in the frontcourt with just four returning forwards on the roster.

For those interested in how Osunniyi came to get an offer from Syracuse, 247Sports has a good story on how Gerry McNamara came upon the talented former LaSalle commit.

Highlights below: