Recruiting Roundup: Syracuse gets commitment from John Bol Ajak

boeheim
Jim Boeheim looks on during the first half of Syracuse's matchup. Mandatory Photo Credit: Rich Barnes, USA Today Sports.

Lots from the Syracuse basketball recruiting world. Just a note: The women’s team received a 2020 commit on Tuesday.

Around the same time, the Syracuse men’s basketball team picked up a commitment from 6-10 Westtown (Pa.) center John Bol Ajak. He is rated three-stars by 247 Sports and is the 61st rated center in his class. He also held offers from Pitt, VCU, Connecticut and George Washington, among others. The news was first reported on Twitter by Pat Lawless. “It just felt right,” Ajak said in an interview with Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters. “After I came up to the school, it was obvious.” He is the second commit in the 2019 class, joining St. Andrew’s (RI) guard Brycen Goodine.

Syracuse also looks to be in good position for Quincy Guerrier, a 6-foot-7 wing from Thetford Academy in Quebec City, Quebec. He tweeted on Tuesday night that he’s going to announce his top three on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. He’s taken  visits to Syracuse and Oregon recently, and told Adam Zagoria in September that he will take a visit to Illinois this weekend before deciding by the end of the month. One telling quote from his interview with Zagoria favors SU: “My relationship with the players from Syracuse was better than with Oregon.”

» Related: Stop worrying that Syracuse basketball doesn’t have more 2019 recruits yet

The Orange is still heavily involved in the recruitment of 6-foot-9 forward Akok Akok from Putnam Science (Conn.) Academy. He is currently ranked the No. 35 recruit in the 2019 class by Rivals.com, and will be taking a visit to Syracuse on the weekend of Oct. 20. He has already visited Providence, and will also be visiting UConn, Pitt and Georgetown. Rivals.com’s Corey Evans wrote on Tuesday that Syracuse “should not be discounted” in the chase for his services.

In late September, Syracuse recruit Joe Girard III announced the timetable for his decision, stating that he will commit to a school by the middle of this month. Waters caught up with Girard during his final home game of his college football career, and he said he’s enjoying time away from hoops. “Football just gives me a break from basketball in general,” he said to Waters. Other schools in the running for Girard include Boston College, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Duke.

That’s all from the recruiting world for today. Have a great Wednesday!

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.