Sensational big man Kyle Filipowski may be headed elsewhere. He’s being courted by Duke, and a slew of other power programs across the country. But even if so, Syracuse has targeted its next athletic 7-footer: Peter Carey. On Thursday the Orange became the first ACC school to offer the Class of ’22 Massachusetts native, and only the second power conference team behind Rutgers. He also has offers from Penn, Brown, UMass, Iona, St Bonaventure and Albany.
His height and weight have been listed as a tick under 7-feet and 200-pounds, leading many to speculate he needs to put on weight. But his AAU coach Jesse Shapiro says those numbers aren’t up to date.
“Right now he’s 210 and seven foot. He’s a legit footer and he’s 210. He looks like a baby still. I’m basing him on what he’s going to be in two years. One more year of high school, then hopefully this can happen. Two years from now, that kid is going to be very special if he sticks to working hard.” – AAU Coach Jesse Shapiro
After SU’s offer, Carey is apparently “walking on the moon” according to Shapiro. He’s likely to visit the Orange next month. Shapiro notes his lockdown defensive prowess, and how the SU coaches love it for the 2-3 zone. Even though Covid prevented him from playing high school hoops last year, Shapiro designed at-home workouts. Carey religiously committed to them.
Carey says his biggest jumps recently have been in his physical tools. “A lot of it has been developing my body, becoming tougher, and just being a student of the game,” he told The Recorder. He said his Zoom call with Rick Pitino at Iona was “incredible” and he was blown away when speaking to Jim Boeheim.
“You’re on the phone and it’s hard not to think about who you’re talking to. You’re trying to focus on what he’s saying the whole time, but you’re just in disbelief that you’re talking to Jim Boeheim.” – Peter Carey
While the Syracuse Class of ’22 already has elite talent coming through, the staff has proven they want to keep stacking players. Carey is starting to pick up steam across the recruiting circles with strong play this summer for his AAU squad the Lightning. Whether it’s Filipowski, Carey or others, the Orange isn’t sitting back and waiting.
