Syracuse men’s basketball just returned from preseason exhibitions in Italy, where four freshmen had their first collegiate in-game experience. The Orange open their season on Nov. 6 against Virginia, but they are still working to complete their 2020 recruiting class.

The Orange don’t have many spots to fill. There are currently no seniors on the scholarship list, and with 11 scholarship players, plus key contributor Buddy Boeheim who doesn’t count as a scholarship player because his father is a University employee, SU’s Class of 2020 recruits will be smaller than previous seasons. Because of the Orange’s five-man incoming freshman class and one verbally committed player — Woody Newton — for 2020, SU has just one of its 13 scholarships remaining to hand out.

Newton, a four-star recruit, verbally committed to the Orange in June. Newton is a 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward from Mt. Zion Prep (Maryland), and is ranked No. 91 in the nation by 247Sports. Newton was primarily recruited by SU assistant coach Allen Griffin and associate head coach Adrian Autry.

Newton is described as one of the top defensive players in his class, and shined defensively during the Nike EYBL event in Dallaswhile playing with Team Takeover in June. During his junior season at Mt. Zion Prep, Newton played 30 minutes a game, averaging 14.2 points.

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“I will bring to any program a tough player that will lock up any best player in the country,” Newton said in June. “I’m always giving my all, 110%, and I’m ready to work, no matter what.”

Xavier, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Penn State, Kansas State, Maryland and Virginia Tech all offered Newton, but the forward chose the Orange instead.

The Next Chapter. I’m Headed To… pic.twitter.com/xFqf0nGNfL

— Woody Newton (@WNewton_23) May 28, 2019

The Orange’s 2020-21 frontcourt appears to be pretty crowded. Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe will be seniors, and the Orange will also have then-sophomore forwards Jesse Edwards, John Bol Ajak and Quincy Guerrier joining Newton if none declare for the NBA Draft.

One recruit to keep an eye on is Andre Jackson, who plays on the same AAU team that Boeheim and incoming freshman Joe Girard III played for. Jackson, a 6-6 wing from Albany Academy, could fit the mold of lengthy guards at the top of SU’s 2-3 zone. Much like assistant coach Gerry McNamara who recruited Girard III, he’s been the lead man in trying to convince Jackson — ranked No. 63 nationally by 247Sports.com — to join the Orange in 2020. Girard III and Jackson were AAU teammates before Girard III graduated high school in 2019.

Jackson has received significant interest from Syracuse, and the 247Sports experts see Syracuse as his most likely landing spot. But Iowa, UCLA, Connecticut and Maryland have also all been closely recruiting the wing and are in his top five.

SHEEEESHHH, @andrejackson111 ? pic.twitter.com/GkLTCLRAV7

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) August 18, 2019

Syracuse had an open offer to the Westtown School’s (Pennsylvania) Noah Collier, but once the Orange tapped Newton, Collier removed Syracuse from his top three schools. Collier played with Ajak for one season at the Westtown School. During Ajak’s senior year as a center, Collier, then a junior, was a wing for one of the top programs in the state.

SU also offered guard Scottie Barnes, forward Isaiah Jackson and center Hunter Dickinson — all three top-30 recruits by 247Sports — but haven’t extensively pursued any of them as all three have visited other high-major programs instead of SU.

The Orange have also begun to extend offers to the Class of 2021, offering six rising juniors already. All six players, including two centers, one guard and three wings are ranked in the top 100 on 247Sports 2021 rankings.

With more scholarships becoming available in that class, SU will likely be more active in pursuing more than one or two targets. That list should continue to grow throughout 2019.

Published on August 27, 2019 at 10:17 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo