The wild world of recruiting...
Many of you will remember five-star Kevin Knox, whom Syracuse had extended an offer to a while back.
Now, Syracuse didn’t have much, if any, chance to land him — but all of a sudden his college decision could directly impact one of SU’s top remaining targets.
Knox is considering North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and Missouri.
Duke is the favorite to land the 6-foot-8 forward, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball. The Blue Devils hold 83 percent of the predictions. UNC is next with 13 percent.
However, if Knox doesn’t pick Duke, there is some legitimate speculation that coach K and his program could get involved with Jordan Tucker.
Andrew Slater of 247Sports told Adam Zagoria last week on Zag’s 4 Quarters Podcast that if Knox chooses North Carolina or Missouri, he wouldn’t be surprised to see coach K reach out to Tucker. And if most of you remember correctly, Tucker has always wanted a Duke offer and if he were to get it — well, there’s no telling what could happen.
He’s been back and forth with his recruitment, and even eliminated Syracuse at one point. But after a visit from Jim Boeheim and Gerry McNamara, the Orange were back in the middle of things and even landed an official visit.
Tucker’s father told Zagoria on Wednesday that Oregon had been eliminated from the recruitment due to proximity to home. Just a week and half ago, Tucker wanted to officially visit the Ducks. Things change quickly.
I wouldn’t be too worried, as Knox is expected to go to Durham to play next season — but it’s something to note.
Another interesting note from Zagoria’s piece on Wednesday with Tucker’s father (Lou) was a quote that felt all too familiar:
“Syracuse is every day,” Lou said. “I hear from coach [Jim Boeheim], from Allen Griffin, from Gerry McNamara, Red Autry. Everybody is doing a good job recruiting Jordan. They pretty much did everything they could possibly do.”
I don’t want to look too much into one quote, but that sounds an awful lot like the Quade Green recruitment — especially at the end when he chose Kentucky.
Knox is expected to decide by Sunday — as is Tucker.
Syracuse has three open scholarships for next season.
