It’s been a little over a month since the Orange last made a splash in the transfer portal, landing Hofstra point guard Jaquan Carlos on April 24. Now it seems like Syracyse might have a little more recruiting juice as it tries to round out its 2024-25 scholarship spots.
Syracuse transfer center Eddie Lampkin posted a photo to his Instagram that shows SU is having Georgia State transfer guard Lucas Taylor on a visit. So, if the Orange can land Taylor, what would the new backcourt look like?
Taylor’s true position is at shooting guard. While he does possess point guard qualities, such as being a good finisher at the rim, other stats point towards him being a much better option at the two for SU.
This past season with Georgia State, Taylor only averaged 1.8 assists per game, so passing is not one of his elite skills. That’s compared to Carlos, who had over six assists a game for Hofstra this year. And the competition faced was not all that different – Taylor’s Sun Belt conference was 17th in the NET conference rankings, while the Coastal Athletic Association, with Hofstra, was one behind at 18th.
But at shooting guard, Taylor could be dominant. The junior, who started his career at Wake Forest, led Georgia State with 14.4 points per game, shooting 35% from three. Some of Taylor’s best highlights came with catch and shoot threes. He shot spot up 26% of the time and made 25 threes deeper than 25 feet this year, according to College Basketball Shooting on YouTube.
This would set up some interesting position battles. The SG room would get very crowded. JJ Starling mainly starred in the two role last season, and incoming recruit Elijah Moore has been garnering lots of attention lately.
This opens the opportunity for Starling, who in high school was mainly a point guard, to move over to the one and battle with Carlos for starting minutes. Moore would likely be the backup to Taylor to start the year, but could easily fight for a starting role.
Guards Kyle Cuffe and Chance Westry, depending on their offseasons, could likely slot in at the one or two.
Having too many guards is a good problem to have, and with a Lucas Taylor commitment, that could be what Adrian Autry faces this offseason.
