Syracuse looks years in advance when it comes to recruiting.
The Orange zero in on top prospects early on in the recruiting process, bringing them on campus for elite camps and locking them up before the blue bloods — programs such as Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina — are able to get in the mix.
That trend continued Friday when New Jersey junior guard Malachi Richardson of Trenton Catholic picked the ACC school over Indiana, Villanova, Rutgers, Arizona and UConn.
“They do a very good job getting on those kids early, especially kids they know they want to target,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said.
Of course, Syracuse has won at a high rate the last several years and are ranked second in the nation this year, only enhancing the brand. Coach Jim Boeheim is a household name in college basketball — particularly on the East coast — and assistants Adrian Autry, Gerry McNamara and Mike Hopkins have proven to be tireless workers with contacts up and down the coast.
Syracuse doesn’t focus on one area, having made significant dents in New York City, New Jersey, New England, Philadelphia and Washington.
The addition of the 6-foot-5 Richardson, a consensus top-25 prospect known for his slick handle and scoring acumen, is the latest major commitment for Syracuse.
Richardson joins highly rated New Hampton (N.H.) forward Tyler Lydon in Boeheim’s 2015 class. This year, the Orange have signed Bronx native and likely McDonald’s All-American Chris McCullough and top-100 point guard Kaleb Joseph of Massachusetts. That’s coming on the heels of its current freshman class, a five-man group led by former St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) point guard Tyler Ennis that was ranked in the top 10 nationally.
“They have such a strong reputation in the northeast,” Daniels said.
While other top programs have relied on one-and-done players, Syracuse has developed talent, which has given Boeheim and Co. depth, affording them the opportunity to pick and choose recruits.
“I just think in general those guys are consistent,” McCullough’s AAU coach Terrence “Munch” Williams said. “When they target a kid they want, they’re consistently at their events, they’re consistently going to open gyms, they’re consistently on the phone [with them].”
Highly ranked Roselle Catholic (N.J.) junior point guard Isaiah Briscoe is attending Sunday’s St. John’s-Syracuse game at Madison Square Garden. The two rivals are among the many schools recruiting Briscoe.
LIU Brooklyn offered WHEELS Academy junior guard Emile Louis his first scholarship on Monday.
Christ the King sophomore guard Rawle Alkins landed a scholarship offer from Minnesota, which joins the likes of Villanova, Fordham, Hofstra, Cincinnati, Rutgers and Seton Hall recruiting the highly regarded underclassman.
Alkins’ teammate, 6-foot-10 center Adonis Delarosa, will sign in the spring, Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello said. He is being recruited by St. John’s, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Purdue, SMU, Forest State, Fordham and Hofstra.
Fordham offered St. Anthony of Jersey City junior forward Markis McDuffie on Wednesday.
Duquesne associate head coach Brian Nash attended the Lincoln-George Westinghouse game on Tuesday to see Lincoln senior wing Desi Rodriguez and Westinghouse senior guard Isaiah Gurley.