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You have questions? Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy has answers … most of the time. This week, Cassidy digs into his online mail bag to field questions about St. John’s quiet recruiting cycle, Syracuse’s chances with Acaden Lewis and the front-runners to land a pair of four-star prospects.
More Cassidy: Five must-get prospects in the Rivals150
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Who’s the leader for Hudson Greer and Darius adams
— Gary Sanderson (@GarySan21781759) August 20, 2024
It’s still pretty early in the recruitments of both Hudson Greer and Darius Adams, but the picture is starting to clear enough to make it safe to signal out a small group of “serious players” for each.
While making a few calls asking where Adams stands, the names I heard most closely linked to the five-star guard were Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan State. Putting those three programs in order, however, is a bit tricky due to the fact that Adams himself may not have established a pecking order in his own head just yet. Still, recent intel I’ve gathered suggests that those three programs will be in the mix until the end, and it seems pretty likely that one of the three will eventually be the pick.
As for Greer, I’d peg Arizona as the slight leader for the time being with Kansas running in a close second and very much within striking distance. The Jayhawks and Wildcats are jockeying for position at the top, but I’ve also been told UConn is a dark horse that could make a move depending on how Greer’s official visit to Storrs on Oct. 11 plays out. Right now, I see it as a top two that could become a top three down the road, with the order being Arizona, Kansas and UConn. It seems highly unlikely that a program outside of those three lands the four-star wing.
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How much will Uconn pivoting to Acaden Lewis hurt Syracuses chances?
— Cardiac Cuse (@cardiac_cuse) August 20, 2024
Well, it’s certainly not an ideal development for the Orange. The good news is that rumors of UConn’s pivot from Meleek Thomas to Acaden Lewis are extremely surface level as the reasons for such a thing seem murky at the time being. That said, if the defending champs do indeed intend to cut bait with Thomas in order to pursue Lewis – a rumor I‘ve not been able to independently confirm – the Huskies are gonna be difficult for Syracuse to hold off.
The market for Lewis is becoming more crowded by the week, which is obviously not great news for a Syracuse program attempting to show continued upward trajectory under second-year head coach Adrian Autry, who won 20 games but missed the NCAA tournament in his debut season. I won’t rule ‘Cuse out because there’s serious mutual interest there, but Autry and company are going to have a fight on their hands to say the very least.
The hard but obvious truth of the matter is that Syracuse has not qualified for the NCAA tournament since 2021, and it makes standing toe-to-toe with the big boys difficult if the NIL money is anywhere close to equal.
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what the deal with St John’s 25 HS recruiting. I don’t see any visits lined up or them even leading on any recruits?
— N (@goredstorm) August 13, 2024
The only 2025 prospect to whom I know St. John’s has reached out is four-star guard Kayden Mingo, but it’s been a while since I heard any buzz about him and the Johnnies. Head coach Rick Pitino was a bit scarce on the grassroots circuit this season and was conspicuous in his absence from Peach Jam. People I’ve spoken with in New York this week have hypothesized that the Red Storm will go heavy on either international prospects or the transfer portal this cycle before making stronger high school moves with the class of 2026.