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hen it came time for five-star Rochester recruit Isaiah Stewart to make his college decision in fall 2018, he released a list of five final schools: Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Washington and Syracuse.

Then-longtime Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins had made dozens of visits to McQuaid Jesuit High School when Stewart was an underclassman — so many that some joked Hopkins had his own parking spot at the school. At the time, Syracuse had recruited him early. He was fourth in 247Sports’ recruiting ranking for the entire 2019 class. 

In 2017, Hopkins left Syracuse for the Washington head coaching job. Stewart’s list was still officially five, but really, it was four, one scout said. The Orange were just a courtesy addition now. He eventually chose Washington, and the five-star recruit and one-and-done prospect went from Syracuse’s backyard to the Pacific Northwest to a productive rookie season for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA this year.

“Hop was proven on the recruiting trail. He did a phenomenal job at Syracuse getting guys in that other programs didn’t necessarily like,” said one former staffer, who’s among people The Daily Orange granted anonymity to speak freely about SU’s recruiting. 

When Hopkins, the man viewed as the heir to Jim Boeheim’s historic success, departed, so did years of established recruiting connections in Philadelphia, New Jersey and other major recruiting hubs. Many in and around Syracuse basketball’s program told The D.O. that recruiting has taken a dip in the last five years partially because of Hopkins’ departure. Sanctions on the program, early departures from players turning pro and the potential of a new coach all played a role as well.

“Syracuse offers used to be a big deal, but they’re not anymore. It’s just another ACC school,” one scout said.

But even with recruiting struggles, Syracuse has made three Sweet 16 appearances in five years, as many as any program in the nation but Gonzaga. The Orange have made NCAA Tournament success as a double-digit seed following average regular seasons the norm. SU’s average KenPom ranking from 2009-14 was 10.7, but dipped to 42.5 from 2016-21. Tournament runs have helped the program, but they’ve also left SU replacing key contributors earlier than it thought it’d need to.

The Orange have their recruiting strengths, including finds like Quincy Guerrier and Oshae Brissett from Canada — two under-recruited players who fit perfectly into Boeheim’s 2-3 zone. Boeheim told The D.O. he doesn’t care about recruiting rankings or that the Orange have slipped in recruiting rankings in recent seasons. They’ve slipped in overall efficiency and regular season performance, too. But the answer to the question if the Orange are actually worse at recruiting is complex. 

From 2006-16, Syracuse’s average national recruiting rank was 19th-best in the nation. From 2017-20, that dropped to 39th. For players, the average rank of an SU commit has fallen from 63.9 to 175.5 in those same time frames. 

Despite this, Syracuse just played in the Sweet 16 without a top-100 recruit in its starting lineup. Marek Dolezaj was a three-star from Slovakia, and SU was his only offer. Neither of the Orange’s starting guards who averaged 34 combined points per game in the NCAA Tournament were highly touted recruits. 

There were the sanctions placed on the program that cost it three scholarship spots from 2015-19. There was uncertainty whether Boeheim would remain at SU throughout the second half of the last decade, which he said “devastated” recruiting. 

“No one ever talks about coach getting through Syracuse, through the sanctions, and he deserves endless praise,” one former staffer said. “You don’t get through that stretch, there’s no telling where Syracuse basketball would be right now.”

But multiple people within college basketball say the recruiting scene is changing. Head coaches are involved earlier than ever. It’s much more hands-on, less about prestige and school name recognition and more about fit. Prospects look at social media, and “who’s cool” when selecting schools, a scout said. “Going to play in the middle of nowhere New York is not what it was 25 years ago,” they added.

Boeheim insists that he and the Orange’s assistants recruit as a team and he’s involved in communication with players as soon as Syracuse begins recruiting them. Yet two sources said that Boeheim is more of a “closer,” instead leaning on assistants to identify players through connections with high school coaches and scouting services.

When asked if college basketball recruiting has changed in the last five to 10 years, Boeheim responded simply. 

“No, not at all.” 

• • •

From 2007-14, Syracuse pulled four players out of Philadelphia: Scoop Jardine, Rakeem Christmas, Rick Jackson and Dion Waiters. They all became key contributors to the Orange’s three 30-win seasons in four years. 

Hopkins had the relationship with Team Final of the Nike EYBL circuit, where much of SU’s Philadelphia talent came from. Since he left, those connections to Philadelphia — one of the best cities in the country for high-major Division I talent — have weakened. The Orange were close on Quade Green in 2016 before he spurned SU for Kentucky. John Bol Ajak is the only Philadelphia-area recruit since Hopkins left, but he’s in the transfer portal after scarce playing time in the 2020-21 season.

“Losing Hop pretty much ended that pipeline,” one high school scout said. 

Beyond Philadelphia, Hopkins worked relentlessly to identify talent early — a former staffer specifically highlighted Tyler Lydon and Jonny Flynn. Described as a “players-first” coach, Hopkins earned Boeheim’s trust on decision-making, talent identification and recruiting. 

One person said that Hopkins found recruits that other coaches didn’t see value in, but he could still pitch Boeheim to bring that player to Syracuse. Michael Carter-Williams told The D.O. in 2017, “it seemed like Hop was the head coach. Not stepping on Boeheim’s toes, but Boeheim had faith in Hop.”

Boeheim’s lost great assistant coaches before, like ace recruiter Troy Weaver (2000-04) who went to the NBA and is now the Pistons General Manager. Rick Pitino left after a short time as an assistant, too. But none had the longevity of Hopkins, who played for Boeheim and had 22 years as an assistant.

Allen Griffin was hired to replace Hopkins and pulled in SU’s best recruit since Carmelo Anthony when Darius Bazley committed. Despite a strong relationship, including one official visit where Bazley shot in the Melo Center until after 1 a.m, Bazley called Griffin 15 minutes before his G League announcement went public to say he wasn’t coming to SU.

A former staffer said the decision didn’t have to do with Syracuse, though. It was an opportunity for Bazley to get paid while developing in the G League and bad timing for the Orange. Bazley would’ve been a key addition to the 2018-19 Syracuse roster that still finished as an eight seed without him, the second-highest seed the Orange have had since their Final Four run in 2013. 

“You’re always excited to get a talent like Darius,” one former staffer said. “It was disappointing when we lost him. ”

Since Bazley’s departure, there are signs that Syracuse’s recruiting is back on the rise. Syracuse did get Dior Johnson’s commitment for the Class of 2022, but he later decommitted and may not play college basketball at all. The addition of Benny Williams, whom different scouts described as a “stud,” “star” and “future pro,” should bolster the Orange’s top-end talent level in 2021-22. The Orange added Class of 2022 wing Kamari Lands from Indiana, a top-40 recruit, on April 6.

Boeheim has repeatedly reaffirmed he’s not leaving the job anytime soon, which takes away rivals’ abilities to negatively recruit against Syracuse. The Orange are another year removed from Hopkins’ departure, another year from the sanctions that erased the program’s margin for recruiting misses that other programs still had. 

• • •

Syracuse’s issues recruiting at center have risen to the forefront this season. Losing Bourama Sidibe to injury four minutes into the season is bad luck, but couldn’t be completely unforeseen given his extensive injury history.

His absence left the Orange with only one player who Boeheim felt was ready to contribute at center: 6-foot-10 forward Dolezaj, who weighs 200 pounds.

“We haven’t had a really good offensive center since Rakeem (Christmas),” Boeheim said. “It has nothing to do with the NBA.”

Boeheim referenced Dolezaj playing 20 feet from the basket offensively for much of the season, and how that more closely resembles what many NBA teams ask of their centers. But scouts disagree with Boeheim on why the Orange have struggled to get top-tier, two-way center talent. 

Given the talent level the Orange recruit at in the Atlantic Coast Conference, many of the centers they’d be pursuing have professional basketball aspirations beyond their time in college. 

“The style of center that they like to play with (at Syracuse) is becoming less and less common. Guys are working less on rim protection and more about guarding in space,” another scout told The D.O. “You’re never going to have the opportunity to do that in a 2-3 zone if you’re a center at Syracuse.”

Following the departure of Paschal Chukwu after the 2018-19 season, the Orange were left with one center — Sidibe — they could rely on entering the following season. Ajak was seen as a potential fix, but Boeheim admitted he was actually viewed as more of a stretch forward than a center during a press conference earlier this season. Ajak was a three-star recruit who chose between Syracuse and Saint Joseph’s of the Atlantic 10. The Orange added Jesse Edwards late in that recruiting cycle, and despite not being highly rated, he’s shown flashes of the potential Boeheim had anticipated would come. 

His unteachables, height and length, immediately make him valuable defensively in the 2-3 zone if he can improve his rebounding and stay out of foul trouble. For now, Edwards is inconsistent, following his good games (San Diego State and North Carolina) with bad ones (West Virginia). 

“For as much as the zone can hide a bad defender, you need a defensive-minded center to anchor the zone that is the solution for hiding other guys,” one source said.

Syracuse’s best teams have always featured a difference-making center, and improvement at the center position is a clear way to help the Orange consistently earn higher seeds than they have in the past six seasons. 

• • •

One source described Boeheim as the master of getting uncertain players to stay with the program in end of season interviews. He doesn’t make promises on playing time, but convinces players why Syracuse will build their college career. Syracuse has lost a handful of players early, people that the program didn’t expect to lose and wouldn’t have lost until hot stretches in March raised their draft stock, like Tyler Ennis, Lydon and Malachi Richardson’s. With the changes in the transfer portal, Boeheim has less control over players’ futures now, though. 

“When we were recruiting those guys, we weren’t recruiting them as one-and-done, two-and-done guys that you need to recruit right behind them,” a former staffer said. “You get caught off guard.”

Before the rule change, it was much tougher to find quality players who could step in and contribute right away through the transfer portal. Boeheim said Lydon would have been difficult to replace any year, but especially in that era of college transfers.

“In those days, you didn’t get good players in April,” Boeheim said. “Now you can.”

This offseason, the Orange lost Woody Newton and Kadary Richmond to the transfer portal. Richmond left because he wasn’t happy with being restricted on the court, multiple sources said. 

It wasn’t just that Joe Girard III started over him when he struggled in the middle of the season, or that Richmond wasn’t getting enough minutes. Richmond is headed to Seton Hall, which is both closer to home and an opportunity for him to prove himself and play without those same restrictions, one source said. 

Richmond’s departure left the Orange thin at point guard, so Boeheim added Marquette’s Symir Torrence. But Syracuse’s lack of point guard depth dates back to 2016, when they lost out on recruiting Green.

Gerry McNamara was the point man in recruiting Green, a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American from Neumann-Goretti High School. Like Stewart, the Orange recruited him early and beat out Duke — and nearly Kentucky. A source said that Green had signed his National Letter of Intent to play at SU, but never sent it in, instead signing with Kentucky.

“I broke his heart today,” Green told The D.O. about McNamara in 2016. “Had to do what I had to do.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari had offered a starting job to Green as a freshman, while Syracuse hadn’t. Boeheim doesn’t make guarantees. When Green struggled after his first two years at Kentucky and wanted to transfer, Syracuse didn’t pursue him as a transfer. He ended up at Washington with Hopkins for his final two years of eligibility. 

Green’s decision had cascading effects because the Orange were all-in on him. They didn’t strongly pursue any other point guards in that class. No offer for José Alvarado, a top-100 prospect from New York City who became a star at Georgia Tech. No offer for Isaiah Washington, another New York City product who ended up at Minnesota. 

The Orange offered Matt Coleman, but didn’t pursue him after his top five schools were released. He ended up at Texas. Kaleb Joseph hadn’t worked out in his limited time with SU to that point, and the only other point guard for the 2017-18 season was Frank Howard. 

“You’re always going to miss players, that always happens,” Boeheim said. “It’s a gamble in some ways, but our judgement over 45 years has been pretty good.”

Syracuse made a late move for Buffalo native Howard Washington in 2017, who failed to carve out a role for himself in his two full playing seasons with the Orange. They added Geno Thorpe from South Florida through the grad transfer route, but Thorpe left the team midseason in 2017. Tyus Battle and Howard ranked first and second nationally in minutes percentage because SU had no reliable backup to them. 

The next season, Boeheim added Jalen Carey to help solve the point guard issue. It was viewed as a big recruiting win at the time, as he was ranked 61st nationally by 247Sports and SU beat out UConn and Miami.

“In the class that they really needed a point guard, it was a bad point guard class,” one source said. “Then Jalen didn’t work out.”

Eric Ayala was another player that the Orange had serious interest and conversations with in that class, and he was ranked 17 spots lower than Carey. Ayala has built a successful career at Maryland, while Carey is struggling at Rhode Island. One former staffer described it as bad luck, and added that trying to project from recruiting rankings isn’t reliable. Boeheim called it an inexact science. 

Carey’s ineffectiveness as a freshman left them again with just Howard at point guard. Howard had a solid four-year career with the Orange, but his senior year in 2018-19 was derailed by a leg injury suffered in a preseason bar fight that caused him to miss the first four games of the season, multiple sources said. He then missed the 2019 tournament first-round loss to Baylor after he reportedly failed a drug test. 

McNamara had built a strong connection early with Andre Jackson, a 6-foot-6 wing from Albany, last year. A source said that no assistant in the country was closer with Jackson than McNamara, but he still chose Connecticut over Syracuse. And with Newton and Richmond gone, only Frank Anselem remains from the class that the Orange added in 2020. 

“I think we’re a top-tier program, there’s no question,” athletic director John Wildhack told Syracuse.com on March 17. “I think the sport has also changed dramatically.”

• • •

This season, Boeheim has been particularly critical of Alan Griffin’s ability to learn the zone. He says talk of players needing time to learn the zone is not true despite continually criticizing Griffin when he had inconsistent play. 

His hard-nosed coaching style doesn’t always filter down to the entire roster. Boeheim was especially tough on Joseph, Tyler Roberson, Matt Moyer and Brycen Goodine behind the scenes, multiple people said. One person said that Boeheim’s treatment of Roberson soured plenty of people within the New Jersey basketball scene on sending future players to Syracuse. 

One source said that, “Boeheim’s inability to cater to this generation, as far as the mental aspects of things go,” is a small factor which can deter players from coming to SU. 

After 45 years as SU head coach, Boeheim is the program, and for good reason. One former recruit cited the respect he has for Boeheim’s credentials because of his name and status in the sport. Not many programs would trade the Orange’s NCAA Tournament success in the last decade, even if recruiting isn’t as strong as it was in its peak. Boeheim, the Carrier Dome and his 2-3 zone are the defining features of this program, and they will be as long as he’s patrolling the sidelines and making tournament runs. 

“It’s not one guy that’s ever recruited players,” Boeheim said. “(But) most people, when they commit, say they are coming to play for the guy in the Hall of Fame. If we’re getting players, it’s on me. If we’re not getting players, it’s also on me.”

But college basketball recruiting has changed. And a Syracuse offer isn’t what it once was for everyone. 

A high school scout said: “There’s a really big disconnect between what the program is right now and what the program thinks it is.”

Banner photo illustration by Emily Steinberger, Photo Editor.

Published on April 14, 2021 at 11:34 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo