Despite not having the scholarships for it, Syracuse basketball is still on the 2016 recruiting trail.
Syracuse has extended a scholarship offer to 2016 power forward Taurean Thompson, according to Adam Zagoria. Thompson is a four-star recruit at Brewster Academy with a lot of upside, but also a few question marks. He has been dealing with injury for a big part of his high school career, most recently a rib injury over the summer. Despite the setbacks, Jim Boeheim is interested.
Thompson has the skill set to prosper in Syracuse. His very long body will work well in the 2-3 zone, and he has been known to hit the midrange jumper. He needs to fill out a bit, but he’s sure to pick up weight once he starts working out with a college team. Even Thompson’s AAU coach Jimmy Salmon said Thompson is a “Syracuse-type kid.”
Thompson was in Syracuse last month for the Orange’s Elite Camp, and plans to visit again later this month. On Wednesday he visited Rutgers, and plans to make a trip to Xavier next weekend. Thompson also has offers from Arizona State, Seton Hall, Temple, St. Joe’s and Rice, according to Adam Zagoria.
The scholarship issue hasn’t gone away, though. Syracuse will lose both Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije after this season, but Tyus Battle and Matthew Moyer are set to their scholarship spots, putting the Orange at the 10 player limit. If Thompson were to choose the Orange, Syracuse would have to get a scholarship back through either the appeal process or another player leaving. The question is whether or not Thompson is interested in a school which doesn’t have a scholarship for him right now.
