Syracuse basketball coaches have bolstered their back-court depth ahead of the 2024-25 season.
On Wednesday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported that the ‘Cuse had landed a commitment from Hofstra junior point guard Jaquan Carlos, who is rated as a four-star transfer prospect, according to multiple recruiting services. Carlos also noted his SU pledge on Instagram.
A big welcome from Orange Nation to the 6-foot Carlos, who hails from New York City. Per 247Sports, he entered the transfer portal on March 25 and will have one season of collegiate eligibility left, according to media reports.
A day later, on March 26, 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London noted that Carlos had heard from a range of high-major programs since entering the portal, including Syracuse basketball.
Mike McAllister, an analyst and reporter with 247Sports, noted in a piece that Carlos recently took an official visit to the Hill, although that trip to Central New York didn’t come out publicly, as far as I can tell.
Carlos, who is from Brooklyn, NY, helped guide Coastal Athletic Association (“CAA”) member Hofstra to a 20-13 overall record in 2023-24.
As a junior, per ESPN data, he averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per contest, while connecting on 41.3 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 89.2 percent from the free-throw line.
In 2023-24, Carlos led the CAA in assists per game, was No. 3 in that league in assist/turnover ratio per game, and was named to the conference’s All-Defensive squad.
When I wrote this article on Wednesday, in its national transfer rankings, 247Sports placed Carlos as four stars, No. 184 overall and No. 37 at point guard. He was also four stars and in the top 55 at point guard, according to the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking and On3.
Carlos was a three-star prep recruit in the 2021 class out of Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. I’m not aware of him holding a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball while in high school, although we all know that the Orange staff has deep recruiting ties in New York City and throughout the Empire State.
The current transfer-portal window opened on March 18 and will run for 45 days. To date, at least six players from the ‘Cuse 2023-24 roster have hit the portal, including two guards/wings, and sophomore point guard Judah Mintz is headed to the 2024 NBA Draft.
On the flip side, the Orange will bring in two stellar high school seniors in five-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., and four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City.
Additionally, via the portal, Syracuse basketball coaches have secured commitments from at least three four-star transfers, and they are Carlos, Delaware senior forward Jyáre Davis and Colorado senior center Eddie Lampkin Jr.
If my math is correct (and that’s never a given), I believe that the Orange still has two open scholarships available for 2024-25.
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