Coach JB - 2015 Class is his best ever

[jonvi]

Speaking to a gathering of 300 and more employees, the Orange basketball coach offered a peek behind the curtain.

"It's always difficult when you lose players, sometimes a bit early," said Boeheim, who was certainly referencing the premature defections of would-be sophomore Tyler Ennis and would-be junior Jerami Grant to the NBA. "But that's what happens. We'll be all right.

"I will tell you that next year's recruiting class will be the best that we've ever had here at Syracuse University. That's next year's class — 2015. We've got four guys (who've committed) and we're getting another, but I can't talk about that. It's going to be a great recruiting class, and I think you'll be excited about the future."

The four imports he referenced are, in rating order as determined by the ESPN 100, as follows:
Malachi Richardson (6-foot-6, 190-pound guard) — No. 15 on the ESPN 100.
Moustapha Diagne (6-9, 230-pound forward) — No. 44 on the ESPN 100.
Tyler Lydon (6-8, 185-pound forward) — No. 59 on the ESPN 100.
Franklin Howard (6-6, 180-pound guard) — No. 70 on the ESPN 100.

 

[jonvi]

Sweet Jesus please tell me the 5th guy is

Thomas Bryant, one of the highest-rated prospects in the Class of 2015, continues to keep Syracuse University at the top of his list of schools, his mother said Tuesday.

Bryant, a 6-foot-9 center from Rochester, N.Y., is rated No. 10 in his class by ESPN.com.
Bryant is being recruited by several of the top basketball programs in the country. He recently told Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com that he would take official visits to Syracuse, Ohio State, Kansas and Missouri.

"I asked him about what schools he's interested in,'' Bryant's mother, Linda, said Tuesday. "He said, 'Mom, there's so many schools and they're all good.'

"He said Syracuse is still on the top of his list,'' Linda Bryant added. "That's what he told me.''

 

[jonvi]

Who is the mystery recruit?

Thomas Bryant (left), shown here playing Bishop Kearney in 2013, could be the final piece to Syracuse's recruiting puzzle in 2015. (AP Photo | Mike Groll)


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Syracuse, N.Y. — So who is the mystery recruit that Jim Boeheim was referring to?
On Tuesday, Boeheim, in speaking to a local group, noted the four players in the Class of 2015 that have given verbal commitments to Syracuse.

Boeheim can be talking about one of only two players. Thomas Bryant, a 6-9 center from Rochester, N.Y., and Derrick Jones, a 6-6 wing from Philadelphia.

Those are the only players in the 2015 class that Syracuse has any continued interest in.
Under the current circumstances, Syracuse would be at the NCAA's limit of 13 scholarships. One scholarship would need to be freed up before Syracuse could bring in another player. That could happen with a player leaving early for the NBA or with a player transferring to another school. Syracuse has had at least one player leave early for the NBA in six of the last seven years. Syracuse has had five early departures in just the last three years.

Bryant would seem to fill more of a need for the Orange. Syracuse senior center Rakeem Christmas will be gone after the upcoming season. Dajuan Coleman's future remains uncertain given his second knee surgery in as many years. That leaves only young center Chinonso Obokoh and Diagne up front for Syracuse.

Is Derrick Jones, a high-flying 6-6 wing out of Philadelphia, the mystery recruit that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was talking about on Tuesday?

Bryant is rated No. 10 in his class by ESPN.com. He led Rochester's Bishop Kearney High School to the 2013 state championship. He transferred to Huntington (W.Va.) Prep last year and averaged 14.1 points and 13.1 rebounds last season.

Bryant's mother, Linda, recently said that Syracuse is at the top of her son's list of colleges. His list reportedly includes Missouri, Ohio State and Kansas.

Jones, meanwhile, is a high-flying wing who is rated No. 27 in his class, according to ESPN.com. Jones' AAU coach, Terrell Myers, said Jones remains interested in Syracuse.

Myers, who runs the We R1 AAU team, said Jones plans to visit Louisville, Florida, Indiana and Kansas in August. Jones visited the SU campus a year ago when he participated in SU's elite camp.

"He'll probably go see Syracuse in September,'' Myers said. "He may go to (Orange) Madness. He's still very interested in Syracuse.''

 

[The Derski]

Not a bad class but hard to believe it's the best Cuse has ever had.

 

[jonvi]

Not a bad class but hard to believe it's the best Cuse has ever had.

That's been kicked around the SU campus and it's a very possible that this will be the best class. But you never know till they get on the court.

This will give you a look at a few of the better classes SU has seen.

Syracuse has had some mega recruiting classes before. In fact, Boeheim's first recruiting class remains pretty impressive. The 1976 class included SU legends Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr and Hal Cohen.

Boeheim had two McDonald's All-Americans in his 1986 class. They were Derrick Coleman and Stevie Thompson. That class also included Matt Roe, Keith Hughes and Earl Duncan.

Boeheim has had two other classes with two McDonald's All-Americans. In 2007, Donte Greene and Jonny Flynn were part of a class that included Scoop Jardine, Rick Jackson, Sean Williams and junior college transfer Kristof Ongenaet. In 2011, Rakeem Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams were both McDonald's All-Americans.

There have been many other great classes, too. In 1996 saw Jason Hart, Etan Thomas, Rock Lloyd, LeSean Howard and Winfred Walton. The 1988 class consisted of Billy Owens, Dave Johnson, Richard Manning, Dave Siock, Tony Scott and Mike Hopkins.

Which was the greatest recruiting class during the Jim Boeheim era? You make the call. Make your case for a class in our comments section and then vote in our poll. I'll be jumping into the comment section, too, to add my two cents during the day.

It is hard to say but the 2015 class is looking very good.