Heading into the week, the popular belief was that 4-star combo forward Tyler Roberson was bound for Villanova. On Friday night, he flashed a grey Syracuse hooded-sweatshirt on ESPNU to signify his commitment.
This comes on the heels of a fresh class of four dynamic high school seniors inking with the Orange. SU will enter the ACC with an absolutely¬†stacked freshman class. Roberson, a 6’8″ recruit from Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, will be the fifth, but possibly not the last, pledge in 2013. He spoke to The Fizz following the announcement.
“I had a good relationship with the coaches. It felt like the right school after visiting. I’ll fit in with the zone defense, and on offense.”
Roberson brings a lot to the table, His length and versatility work perfectly on defense as he can guard players in the post, rebound and defend on the perimeter. On offense, he has the tools to be a star if he can develop all angles of his game.
He can go inside, but needs to get stronger. The forward needs to work on his skills at the small forward position, since his jumper and ball handling have to improve before he becomes a full-time small forward. His ultimate goal is to be a small forward in the NBA, something that his coaches believe could happen after at least three years in college.
As far as expectations go, Roberson tells The Fizz he is trying just focus on the here and now.
“I will play combo forward there. With regards to playing time, it depends how I work and how strong I get. It’s up to me on playing time. I think I can contribute to the team and help out.”
When did Roberson actually decide on Syracuse? According to his mother, he stuck with his gut feeling from the beginning of his recruitment. But he struggled to decide as there were so many strong options available.
“Early on this week I knew it would be Syracuse. All of the schools recruiting me were really good schools. I liked Villanova a lot. It was really hard to not go to either them or Kansas.”
With the decision out of the way, and a potentially huge senior year in front of him, Roberson has a few goals before getting to SU. Once he gets to campus, he is looking forward to getting to know his classmates and experiencing the Orange pride on the Hill.
“The students on campus are really nice. It was just a good atmosphere. The fans really follow their sports and love Coach Boeheim.”
As for the sixth potential commitment of the class, the Orange will now focus on 2013 Montverde Academy (FL) center Dakari Johnson, a New York native who visited Syracuse in the fall. If they can land him – along with Chinonso Obokoh, Tyler Ennis, Ron Patterson, B.J. Johnson and Tyler Roberson – this class has to rank among the best in recent memory for the Orange.
Posted: Alex Kline
