NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Who will land rising class of 2019 star Akok Akok?

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 23: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 23, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: Head coach Cooley of Providence Friars. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Providence Friars

Don’t look now but Ed Cooley has quietly been on a roll as a recruiter in the past year. Not only has he secured the 20th ranked class for this upcoming season, the head Friar just recently got top-60 small forward prospect Greg Gantt for 2019.

Let’s say Akok picks Providence and no one besides seniors leaves the team after next year (big hypothetical). You would have a backcourt of top-50 recruits David Duke and AJ Reeves with Gnatt, Akot and Emmitt Holt filling out the lineup. That would likely usurp Villanova as the team to beat for the 2019-20 season, with hopes for a deep tournament run. This would be the signature pickup for a program that’s been on the rise in the new Big East.

Syracuse Orange

If you’re a long athlete with a great wingspan that hails from the northeast region of the country, odds are that Jim Boeheim and the Orange has reached out you. So, of course, they’ve reached out to Akok and seem to have a really good chance of landing him.

For this upcoming season, rising senior Paschal Chukwu is the only big man who qualifies as a rim protector for Syracuse. He does a good job overall but is severely limited on offense and is a liability when taken out of the paint. Akok would be an upgrade for sure and depending on what Oshae Brissett and Tyus Battle do in terms of NBA Draft decisions (after 2018-19) could make the Orange Final Four threats for the 2020 season.

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