Syracuse Strikes Gold with Chris McCullough

Syracuse continues to have a good couple of months recruiting.  Just a week or so after adding former Indiana recruit Ron Patterson, the Orange picked up Chris McCullough, a five star stud for the 2014 class.  Ironically, McCullough is a teammate of Patterson’s.

The 6-foot-10 forward is rated 13th by Scout.com and 17th overall by ESPN.com.  He averaged almost 14 points per game at Salisbury (Conn.) School last season.  The list of schools chasing the recruit was long including such heavy hitters as Memphis, Connecticut, Kansas and Louisville.

ESPN’s recruiting profile of McCullough included this:

“McCullough is a very long and athletic forward with obvious upside. He runs the court with long fluid strides, gets off his feet quickly, and gets his head on the rim. He is equally mobile laterally and is consequently a potentially versatile defender down the road while also a dangerous weakside shot-blocker.”

The most intriguing part of this commitment is the possibility of another player coming along for the ride.  There had been talk of a “package deal” which included Isiah Whitehead as well.  Whitehead is a 6-foot-4 guard who played at Lincoln High School. Isiah said, “We talk about maybe playing together at Syracuse all the time, but that’s the only school.”

They both attended the Syracuse Elite Camp in August. Whitehead’s list of schools are very comparable to what McCullough was looking at.  St. John’s, in particular, will be paying a lot of attention to what happens with the guard.  All I know is that Syracuse continues to be a force in the recruiting market. This is a school that is trying to sustain it’s success.