In what has been a wild week in Syracuse men’s basketball, there is another positive for SU fans to get excited about. Four-star shooting guard commit Elijah Moore won the three-point competition at the 2024 Slam Dunk and Three-Point Nationals yesterday in Phoenix.
The incoming freshman competed with three others in the three-point competition shootout. Moore posted a group-best score of 24 to win the opening round and ended up taking the victory in the final, 23-21. Moore beat out commits from Duke, Ohio State, and Memphis in the contest.
The win is just one of the many bright spots that the Bronx native is bringing to the 315 next season. Moore, who stands at 6-4, is a guard from Our Savior of Lutheran in New York and previously attended Cardinal Hayes High School.
Moore is considered one of the best shooters in the 2024 class. In his regular season, the sharpshooter averaged 16.9 points per game. Along with that, he put up an absurd 67 points on his senior night to end his regular season. The guard was 13-19 from three-point range in that game, leading to a 68% clip from beyond the arc.
That three-point shooting is something Syracuse desperately needs on their squad next season. The Orange as a team shot just over 33% this past year. That’s their lowest mark in a season since 2019. On top of that, SU’s infamous backcourt duo of guards JJ Starling and Judah Mintz also struggled from three. Starling posted just over a 32% clip, and Mintz finished at just over 28% from three. Both of these numbers show the need for a guy like Moore to step up from the three-point line next year for Syracuse.
Despite all of Moore’s accolades, he has gone under the radar not getting as much attention as he deserves. Part of that is being overshadowed by fellow 2024 commit five-star forward Donnie Freeman. This three-point contest win may change some of that attention.
Moore committed to Syracuse in January of 2023 and officially put pen to paper this November. The three-point threat picked SU over Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. Johns, Xavier, and others.
Moore has a chance to take over the SU offense next season, with just around six months left before he dons an Orange uniform.
