Syracuse men’s basketball: Hunter Dickinson meets with Orange virtually

The Syracuse Orange are looking to make a big splash in the transfer portal. Syracuse has thrown its hat into the ring in the Hunter Dickinson sweepstakes. The Orange met with the star forward over Zoom on Wednesday.

The accolades do all the talking for Dickinson. He burst onto the scene in his freshman year with Michigan in 2021, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and second-team All-American honors. He is also a two-time first team All-Big Ten player with 1,617 career points (12th all-time in Michigan history) and 787 career rebounds (10th all-time in Michigan history). Dickinson entered the transfer portal on March 31.

Dickinson has multiple ties not just to Syracuse, but to the Upstate New York region. He played for Team Takeover AAU while new Orange assistant coach Brenden Straughn was a coach with the program. Dickinson also played high school basketball at DeMatha in Maryland, alma mater of Jerami Grant. Dickinson’s mother played volleyball at Niagara University and his father played baseball at Buffalo State College.

With the recent news of Jesse Edwards entering the transfer portal, Syracuse needs to fill the void underneath the rim. Dickinson’s 7-foot-1 frame would certainly fit the bill, but Syracuse isn’t the only program vying for his services. Dickinson said he has visits scheduled with Maryland and Georgetown. Other big programs such as Kansas and Arkansas have also virtually met with Dickinson and Kentucky is also reportedly interested.

Dickinson would immediately elevate Syracuse’s roster to a new level, but the Orange coaching staff has a tough task courting the game changing forward. At the very least, holding a meeting with him is an encouraging sign that he is interested in Central New York.