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Syracuse basketball loads up in transfer portal – 247Sports
The transfer portal has added a completely different dimension to college sports and how programs structure their rosters. Syracuse men’s basketball has been right in the middle of the action during the 2023 transfer portal cycle.
The Orange lost some members of last season’s squad in the portal. Jesse Edwards committed to West Virginia, Joe Girard committed to Clemson, Symir Torrence committed to Binghamton and John Bol Ajak has not announced his commitment yet.
Despite the losses, Adrian Autry and his staff have been hard at work to find the best possible talent to fill the voids in the roster. Syracuse currently sits 7th in the 247Sports transfer portal team rankings. Here is a look at the newest members of the Orange.
JJ Starling
The first domino to fall was certainly the biggest as Syracuse landed Notre Dame transfer guard JJ Starling, quickly after the portal window opened back in March.
Starling is a former five-star prospect, who is from nearby Baldwinsville, New York. Starling did not choose the Orange out of high school, but quickly took his talents back home after a season with the Fighting Irish.
Starling had a nice freshman campaign at Notre Dame, averaging 11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 42.1% from the field. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman team.
Starling will be a key piece of next season’s Syracuse team. If Judah Mintz decides to stay in the NBA Draft process, Starling will be a leading candidate to run the point for the Orange.
At six-foot-four, Starling has great size to go along with impressive athleticism, which allows him to efficiently attack the rim. Starling is a very talented scorer, but he will likely have to step up as a facilitator if Mintz is not there for the Orange in the upcoming season.
Chance Westry
Syracuse continued to address the backcourt, adding Chance Westry from Auburn. Westry played in 11 games for the Tigers last season before redshirting due to a knee injury. He averaged 2.5 points and one assist during the games he played.
Westry was another highly-coveted recruit coming out of high school. He was a four star prospect in the 2022 class, the 44th-overall player in the country and 4th-ranked player in the state of Arizona.
Although Westry is listed as a guard, he stands at six-foot-six and can certainly play on the wing if needed. This could be an underrated pickup for the Orange as Westry has the potential to contribute in multiple facets.
Offensively, Westry could take on some ball-handling responsibilities and help as a facilitator, as Starling is more of a natural scorer. Defensively, Westry has the size and athleticism to be a significant contributor, which is extremely important given Syracuse’s lackluster defensive performance in 2022-2023. 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein thinks Westry will be an excellent fit with the Orange.
“He has the type of positional size that Syracuse has typically valued in the backcourt,” Finkelstein said. “Offensively, he has upside as a big lead guard and should get opportunities to play with the ball in his hands similar to the way Judah Mintz did this year.”
Naheem McLeod
Autry and company addressed the need at center by adding seven-foot-four Florida State transfer Naheem McLeod. McLeod took an official visit to Syracuse and committed shortly after because he believes he is exactly what the team needs.
“The way the team is built it seems as if there’s only missing a guy like me,” McLeod said.
McLeod is a center with ACC experience, after playing the last two seasons with the Seminoles. His highest-scoring ACC game was against Syracuse, when he dropped 16 points in last season’s contest.
McLeod should be a big factor on the defensive end for the Orange whether the team is in zone or man-to-man. Syracuse needs all the help it can get on the boards and now it has a very tall and long center. McLeod also feels that he will make a difference on offense.
“My confidence is better, my mindset is better and this season is about to surprise a lot of people,” McLeod said. “Just working on shooting from all over the court and free throws.”
Kyle Cuffe Jr.
The most recent Syracuse transfer portal addition is former Kansas guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. Cuffe redshirted his freshman year at Kansas and appeared in just two games this past season before tearing his MCL and PCL.
The six-foot-two guard was extremely impressive throughout his high school career at Blair Academy in New Jersey. Cuffe is a very explosive athlete, who produced many highlight-reel dunks in high school.
He likes to use his athleticism to push the ball in transition and make plays at the rim. Cuffe finished the 2021 cycle as the 109th-ranked player in the country, 29th-ranked shooting guard and 3rd-ranked player in New Jersey.
With his redshirt year and injury, there is very little legitimate college tape on Cuffe. In a report from Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, Cuffe says his ‘knee is perfect’ and it will not jeopardize his availability for the upcoming season.
Takeaways from this transfer portal cycle
It is clear that the Syracuse coaching staff made it a priority to reload on guards after the departures of Girard and Torrence and with the strong possibility that Mintz won’t return.
The Orange was able to add three guards with strong pedigree coming out of high school. Starling is as close to a sure thing as any team could get out of the portal and that is why he is the top-ranked guard. There is no doubt that he will be an essential part of what Syracuse will look to do in the upcoming season.
Westry and Cuffe will be players to keep your eyes on. Both are high-upside players, who bring different things to the table. Westry will likely take on a pretty big role next season with the potential to make an impact in all areas of the game. With Cuffe fully healthy, he is a player that can change the tempo of a game and it will be interesting to see if he can reach his full potential with the Orange.
Replacing Edwards was not going to be easy by any stretch, but the staff clearly likes McLeod after hosting him on an official visit and extending him an offer. Syracuse needs size on both ends of the floor and that is what McLeod provides. McLeod is confident that his offensive game will surprise people and he should be very valuable as a rebounder and shot blocker.
The bigger takeaway is the manner in which the Syracuse coaching staff attacked this cycle of the transfer portal. After taking over for Jim Boeheim, Autry has alleviated the concerns that some had about Syracuse basketball recruiting. The transfer portal will continue to be a key part of college basketball and Syracuse certainly took advantage of it this year.
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