In several recent interviews, fast-rising four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr. has said that he plans to bust out a new roster of his top contenders in the near future, and I expect Syracuse basketball to be included.
First, at the end of January, the 6-foot-8 Adams paid an official visit to the hill, and that trip went quite well. Both he and his AAU coach have spoken highly of the Orange Hoops program on numerous occasions.
Then, in early February, Adams named the top five among ‘Cuse, Texas, UCLA, Oregon, and Mississippi State, though the potential top-65 national candidate has understandably kept his recruiting open as new ones arrive. scholarship offers.
As I noted in another recent column, Adams, his younger brother (a new Syracuse basketball recruit), their AAU coach, and their parents plan to pay Hill an unofficial visit on Saturday, March 4, where they will attend the ‘Orange’s 2022- 23 regular season finale against Wake Forest at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Still, even though Syracuse basketball appears to have a few things working in its favor for Adams, this youngster’s recruiting remains fiercely competitive.
Syracuse basketball is in a fierce recruiting battle for four-star small forward Marcus Adams Jr.
Adams, a senior at Narbonne High School in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, said this week via Twitter that he planned to make an official visit to Kansas February 24-26.
I will be making an official visit to the University of Kansas this week 24-26 and attend the Kansas vs. West Virginia game.
— Marcus Adams Jr (@marcusadams21) February 23, 2023
The Jayhawks won the 2022 NCAA Tournament and Kansas is in line for a #1 seed. 1 in the Big Dance this spring, where the Jayhawks will be considered a serious threat to reach the Final Four and cut the nets for the second year in a row.
In a recent story by SBLive Sports director on Andrew Nemec’s recruiting, Adams says he’s also eyeing official visits to Texas and UCLA. This would leave him with one more official visit available during the current recruitment period.
Adams’ AAU coach is Cory DeSanti, who is the head coach of the Los Angeles-based Elev8 Elite, an Adidas-sponsored program. DeSanti recently told me that another potential option in regards to an official visit is Southern California.
Since revealing his initial top five, Adams’ recruiting has expanded significantly, as he’s added offers from teams like Washington, Tennessee, Kansas State, Xavier, Arkansas, Kansas, Indiana, Southern California and UCLA led by Mike Hopkins.
Adams, however, has an even more expansive bid sheet than the one I just described, which he shared on Twitter not too long ago.
As for the latest in his recruiting process, Adams told Nemec in part, “Every school that used to be in my top five is still there, but there are more (schools).”
Separately, in a recent interview with high school basketball analyst Alex Karamanos, Adams said he will likely post a new top 3 or top 5 at some point.
DeSanti previously told me that Adams was considering a possible engagement announcement in mid-April. Nemec’s story said Adams “hopes to make a decision in April or May.”
The official visit of Adams to Kansas and other suitors comes as no surprise, and I still think Syracuse basketball is a firm favorite for him.
A couple of weeks ago, the Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Adams’ younger brother, 6-foot-6 small forward Maximo Adams.
Maximo Adams, as a prospect in the 2026 cycle, is currently a freshman in high school. He also goes to Narbonne.
Marcus Adams Jr., meanwhile, received his offer from ‘Cuse last December. He has the option of being a member of the class of 2023 or 2024.
