While the rest of the country was grilling and watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July, Jim Boeheim was making moves on the recruiting trail. SU offered four star forward Isaiah Cottrell earlier this week.
Blessed to receive another offer from Syracuse University‚ĺÔ∏è #GoOrangemenüçä pic.twitter.com/u5iVUhm5LS
— Isaiah Cottrell (@bigfella702) July 4, 2018
Cottrell is ranked as the 29th best player in the Class of 2020, according to 247Sports. He currently plays his high school ball for the famed Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, which has produced a number of NBA players in recent years. He holds more than 20 offers, most of which are from Power Five programs.
Another wrinkle in Cottrell’s recruitment is location. Since he goes to school in Vegas, he is being heavily targeted by West Coast powers like Arizona and USC. Along with that, Mike Hopkins’ Washington Huskies are in the fold as well for Cottrell’s services. The forward has received interest or an offer from half of the PAC-12’s programs, as well as other nearby schools like UNLV, UC-Santa Barbara and Pacific.
On the court, Cottrell is a long forward who is a shot-blocking force and has really good hands for a big man, which helps his rebounding tremendously. Both of those assets fit into the Orange’s scheme really well.
Forward is an interesting position for Syracuse’s future because of a couple of factors. The biggest one is Oshae Brissett. The rising sophomore could very well make his way into next year‚Äôs NBA Draft lottery with another standout season at SU. If he does, or even if he‚Äôs a projected first rounder, recent history says he likely would leave to go pro.
Along with that is Marek Dolezaj’s development. He probably isn’t bolting to the pros, but physically, he’s growing. SU Athletics announced that Dolezaj has sprouted to 6-foot-10, which could potentially line him up to see more time as a center that could stretch the floor. If that’s the case, that leaves freshman Robert Braswell as the only true forward on the roster. While it’s more than likely that SU brings in a Class of 2019 forward, there should be minutes readily available for Cottrell if he came to Syracuse.
At the moment, SU has just one other outstanding offer for a Class of 2020 forward in five-star Florida product Scottie Barnes.
