In the new world of college basketball, NIL has thrown the sport’s landscape into chaos.
Despite the uncertainty caused by NIL, Syracuse is finding ways to adapt, and it has already taken steps to address last year’s historically bad season compared to its lofty standards. The Orange have added four players in the transfer portal, headlined by Oregon State sharpshooter Nate Kingz and Georgia Tech point guard Nait George.
Other reinforcements include UCLA big man William Kyle, and fellow Yellow Jacket Ibrahim Souare. While all four will likely play a crucial role for Syracuse and head coach Adrain Autry next season, the real prizes are Kingz and George, who are currently ranked as top-100 players available in the transfer portal across the country.
The rankings vary widely from site to site, but the most notable, On3.com, has George as the 75th-best player available. George averaged 12.3 points and 6.5 assists per game last season, putting him in the top 10 for assists in the entire country. His assist total was almost double the second-best passer on the Yellow Jackets last season, which is something that Syracuse will look for him to continue next year.
Kingz isn’t far behind George, coming in as the 81st-best player available. The Oregon State transfer was one of the best three-point shooters in the country last season, shooting 44.6% from deep on 4.2 attempts per game. As the Orange were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country last year, Kingz will instantly provide some much-needed spacing for Syracuse next year.
Syracuse is likely far from done adding to its roster, but it’s already made some encouraging moves, and Syracuse fans will have to hope that the moves will translate into wins. If the team’s overall recruiting class ranking is any indication, the Orange are well set up to return to their winning ways.
Thanks to the commitment of George and Kingz, Syracuse’s transfer class is ranked as the 24th best in the country by On3.com. That’s much higher than last year, where the Orange only came in with the 51-best.
Again, a top spot in the rankings won’t single-handedly return Syracuse to the top of the ACC, but it’s nice to see the Orange active this offseason and signing some big names, even if they were forced to in response to last year’s dismal season.
