NCAA Basketball: Top 25 recruiting programs of the 2010’s

7. Syracuse Orange (Big East/ACC)

Average recruiting ranking: 24.60

Syracuse competed in the Big East and the ACC during this past decade and experienced success in both leagues. The Orange, in total, made eight NCAA Tournament appearances and made their fair share of deep runs. In fact, they reached the Final Four twice during this span, including once as a No. 10 seed Cinderella. The program’s patented zone defense made headlines throughout the era as they constantly stifled opponents in big games.

Nobody can disagree with the fact that Syracuse has been remarkably successful on the recruiting trail over the course of this decade. Head coach Jim Boeheim has landed his share of elite prospects and that has resulted in many successful seasons. Perhaps most notably, his 2010 class ranked at No. 4 in the entire nation while featuring the talents of Fab Melo, Dion Waiters, and C.J. Fair. This might have been the best class on paper but there were plenty of other talented recruits in 10 years of the program. Rakeem Christmas, Chris McCullough, Tyler Ennis, and Michael Carter-Williams were other five-stars of the decade.

Syracuse’s recruiting future, though, is a bit difficult to predict. Coach Boeheim could be nearing his end as the leader of the program due to age and it is hard to determine if the program will continue its success without the HOF leader. The Orange have emerged as a national powerhouse under his leadership over the past 40+ years but they are still not in the same league as programs such as UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, or Duke. How they will respond when Coach Boeheim retires will be interesting to see as it will likely come in the next decade.