It was a very busy weekend on the Hill for Jim Boeheim and his staff. The Orange hosted several 2016 and 2017 basketball targets and the Orange got a key commit on Sunday when Colorado State graduate transfer guard John Gillon committed to the Orange. However, Syracuse has two remaining scholarships for next season and their work isn’t done.
Another graduate transfer was supposed to visit Syracuse this past weekend. Spike Albrecht from Michigan was scheduled to make an official visit to the Hill. However, according to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, Albrecht did not take his visit and is expected to go elsewhere. With the commit of Gillon, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. It is no secret that Boeheim keeps his rotation small and Albrecht would be one of four point guards on the roster if he decided to come to the Hill.
Albrecht and Gillon are definitely different kinds of players. Albrecht is an almost Trevor Cooney type player, as he hoists the ball from beyond the arc, and hits around 35% of his shots from three. Gillon is more of a traditional point guard as he can both shoot and dish the rock, averaging around two and a half as many assists per game as Albrecht does.
Arguably the most important player to visit Syracuse this weekend was Taurean Thompson, a 6-10 high school senior who can play forward and center. His high school coach said that he was impressed with Syracuse but isn’t quite ready to make his decision.
His recruitment has really heated up in the past few weeks. He has recently received offers from Kansas and Michigan State to go along with his offers from Syracuse, Seton Hall and UConn. He is only one of three ESPN top 100 players in the class of 2016 who has not made his college decision.
Thompson would add much needed depth to the front court. He would be a huge addition to the class of 2016 and his recruitment is something that Syracuse fans should keep an eye on over the coming days and weeks.
