After missing out on Quade Green, the Orange coaching staff is still in search of a guard in the 2017 class. Here’s who’s on SU’s radar.
Eric Ayala
Right now Ayala is a 2018 prospect, but there is talk that he could reclassify to 2017 (his original class). He visited Syracuse on Monday for the Louisville game.
On paper, he’s the most talented guard that Jim Boeheim and company are recruiting. He received a grade of 86 from ESPN and also has offers from other big time programs like Arizona, Connecticut and Indiana.
Of the guards on SU’s radar in the 2017 class, (remember though that Ayala has not switched over yet) the Connecticut native is the only one with a scholarship offer. Clearly he’s the highest priority.
Howard Washington
Washington initially committed to Butler as a 2016 guard, but opted to play a year of prep basketball instead. He’s on the same team as Oshae Brissett at the Athletic Institute in Ontario and visited SU with the Orange commit when Syracuse hosted Boston College back in January.
The point guard comes from Buffalo and is a Syracuse fan. He has received an offer from Oklahoma, but judging from an interview with the Post Standard, it looks like Washington is holding out for an Orange offer. Syracuse is his dream school.
Chris Duarte
The combo-guard out of Troy, New York is a bit of a mystery. Here’s The Fizz’s scouting report from a story published earlier this year:
Duarte is a three-star recruit and is originally from the Dominican Republic. His versatile bag of tools features strong passing skills and a silky perimeter jumper, and at 6-foot-5, 175 pounds, he projects as a lanky floor general in the mold of Michael Carter-Williams.
That’s obviously a best-case scenario, though. Duarte checks in at No. 161 (No. 35 SG) in 247sports’ class rankings, while ESPN, whose overall rankings include only 100 players, slots him at No. 58 among point guards.
