Syracuse men’s basketball 2023 prospects heating up

Even though the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball 2022 season is a couple of months from starting the 2023 recruiting cycle is in full swing. Last week Syracuse got some good news when one of their top targets JP Estrella cancelled a visit to Duke. Estrella is a 6’11 center from Maine who has been rising this summer. He had been looking as a Duke lean but with the Blue Devils looking at other targets, Estrella decided not to take a visit to Durham.

Estrella is now schedule to take an official visit to Syracuse this week, the last of his four visits this summer. He’s been to Iowa, Marquette and Tennessee and if this turns out to be Jesse Edwards’ last season, Estrella could step right into a major role in 2023.

This season Estrella is off to Brewster Prep alongside another major Syracuse target, Reid Ducharme. Ducharme is a 6’4 wing from Boston who has taken visits to Syracuse, Xavier and Penn State but his recent performances are likely to garner more attention.

Syracuse has a strong track record with landing Brewster players. Former Orange CJ Fair, Buddy Boeheim, CJ McCullough and Ron Patterson all spent time at the New Hampshire prep school. After a six-player class in 2022, we expect a small group in 2023 but these two teammates could help the Orange in case Edwards, Joe Girard and Symir Torrence pass on their fifth year.

Syracuse has other offers out there and a couple of sites list Elmarko Jackson as a top target but neither 247 or On3 include the Orange among Jackson’s list so not sure what is happening there. We’ll keep an eye out for news of a visit for Jackson but otherwise it seems like Estrella will be the first of this group to make a decision on a school.