Syracuse basketball recruiting: Osun Osunniyi will visit Orange

The Syracuse Orange have struggled to make some positive noise early on in the offseason, but they have a chance to do so this week. Osun Osunniyi, a 6-foot-10 former 2018 LaSalle Explorers commit from Putnam Science Academy, will be visiting the Syracuse campus on Thursday, according to Syracuse.com.

Osunniyi is not ranked in the ESPN 100 Rankings and hasn’t received much consideration from recruiting sites at all. But he would provide some needed depth to the Syracuse front court. After Darius Bazley opted for the NBA G League, the Orange are in need of some extra talent down low next year. The Orange also missed out on Bryce Golden, a former Pittsburgh commit who chose Butler last week, so Osunniyi’s visit should, and will, be a priority for the 2018-2019 Syracuse Orange.

Osunniyi is an athletic big man who has the ability to change a game with his blocking capabilities and ability to run the floor. He isn't the strongest or most polished player, but Osunniyi could be a nice project for Syracuse to mold into a dominant big man.

Syracuse isn't the only team fighting for Osunniyi’s enrollment, as he has reportedly received interest from Georgetown, Maryland and St. Bonaventure. Osunniyi decommited from LaSalle University after the firing of their head coach, John Giannini.

Adding Osunniyi to next year’s team would make the already athletic roster even more scary in transition. A fast break of him and Oshae Brissett is not something opposing teams want to see often. As Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters noted, he’s a bit of a late-bloomer, very similar to the story of the most recent big man to get an offer from Jim Boeheim, fellow 2018 target Robert Braswell. While apparent “projects” wouldn’t necessarily help SU right away, athletic big men with scoring ability and some ball-handling skills could definitely come in handy down the road.