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When it opened on Monday, over 750 players entered the transfer portal. Ahead of a pivotal Year 3 for head coach Adrian Autry and the first offseason with General Manager Alex Kline, it’s a crucial time for Syracuse to build a roster capable of snapping its four-year NCAA Tournament drought.

With J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman announcing their returns to the program, SU’s core is in place alongside 247Sports’ No. 10 incoming freshmen class headlined by Sadiq White and Kiyan Anthony. Now, the Orange need to round out their roster through the portal.

Here are five players SU should target in the portal:

Nick Boyd, guard, San Diego State
2024-25 stats: 13.4 points, 3.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game

Syracuse’s biggest letdown this year was its point guards. In 2023-24, the Orange were bolstered by Judah Mintz, J.J. Starling and Quadir Copeland, who combined for 41.7 points per contest. After Mintz and Copeland left the program, SU added Jaquan Carlos from the portal, Elijah Moore entered as a four-star recruit and Kyle Cuffe Jr.’s minutes increased.

Alongside Starling, the group combined for 34.3 points per game. While Carlos’ addition as a ball handler was beneficial, he struggled jumping from Hofstra to the Power Four level until late in the season. While Nick Boyd will also have questions regarding a leap to the Power Four level from the Mountain West, he’s bolstered by four years of experience.

The Garnerville, New York, native played his first three seasons at Florida Atlantic — where he was a full-time starter amid its 2023 Final Four run — before transferring to San Diego State for the 2024-25 season. With the Aztecs, Boyd posted a career-high 13.4 points, 3.9 assists and 29.8 minutes per game.

The point guard accumulated a 27.1% assist rate, which would’ve been the best clip on the Orange. Meanwhile, he shot 35.1% from 3 on 4.8 attempts per contest. Off his previous workload, Boyd fits the exact prototype SU needs alongside Starling: a guard who can effectively be his 1B on any given night, handle the ball and shoot. Additionally, his 6-foot-3 build should help him on the defensive end, where Carlos struggled most of the season.

Boyd attended Don Bosco Prep (New Jersey) before his collegiate career, which is in Kline’s hotbed of connections he established while growing in notoriety from The Recruit Scoop.

Dejour Reaves, guard, Iona
2024-25 stats: 17.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game

Dejour Reaves is a Syracuse native who helped lead Corcoran High School past a Starling-led Baldwinsville in the 2020 Section III Class AA championship. He then spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Trinidad State College before transferring to Northern Colorado, where he scored 14.9 points per game and shot 38% from 3 in 2023-24.

Following the season, Reaves transferred to Iona. He quickly emerged as the Gaels’ leading scorer, finishing the year with a team-high 17.3 points. He did so on a 53.5% true shooting percentage, which included making 34.1% of his 5.1 3-point attempts per game. However, Reaves only averaged 1.9 assists per game, as freshman Adam Njie did most of the ball handling.

On the defensive end, the 6-foot, 170-pound guard averaged 2.1 steals, which helped him accumulate the 85th-best steal percentage in the country. This culminated in a First-Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference selection. One day after Iona fired head coach Tobin Anderson, Reaves entered the portal.

Reaves doesn’t necessarily fit what SU is looking for as a starting point guard who can handle the brunt of ball handling alongside Starling. But there’s no reason why the program can’t get a player like Boyd to fill that void and add another skilled and experienced guard to be its sixth man.

Beyond being from Syracuse, Reaves has another connection — his agent, Daniel Poneman, has known Kline since he was 14.

Jalil Bethea, guard, Miami
2024-25 stats: 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists per game

Jalil Bethea was 247Sports’ No. 7 class of 2024 recruit before spending his freshman season at Miami. Syracuse offered the Warminster, Pennsylvania, native in January 2023 and he took an official visit on Sept. 15, 2023. Though he announced his commitment to the Hurricanes five days later.

Bethea’s lone season at Miami was turbulent, which spiraled even further when head coach Jim Larrañaga retired in December. The guard began the year playing sparingly, failing to log 20 or more minutes across the Hurricanes’ first 11 games.

Throughout conference play, the 6-foot-5 guard became a fixture in their rotation, earning a starting spot while averaging 22.1 minutes per game. However, Bethea’s season was still very up-and-down, finishing the year shooting 36.8% from the field. His best game of the season came in the Hurricanes’ win over Syracuse, when he registered 21 points on three 3-pointers, six rebounds and four assists.

Unlike the aforementioned guards, the Orange would have to bank on potential with Bethea rather than experience, which could be risky. However, on pure talent alone, he likely has as high a ceiling as any guard in the portal.

If Bethea is the top guard SU brings in through the portal, it would likely slide Starling into more of a point guard role. At Miami, Bethea posted an 11.1% assist rate and a 15.7% turnover rate. Currently, the rising sophomore is rated as On3’s No. 6 player in the portal while slotting in at No. 14 in 247Sports’ rankings.

Blake Harper, guard/forward, Howard
2024-25 stats: 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game

Blake Harper was an unranked recruit before committing to play his freshman year at Howard in 2024-25. Ahead of his Bison tenure, he was a role player at Gonzaga College High School (Washington, D.C.) and almost didn’t make the cut to travel on Howard’s international trip to Brazil, according to Sports Illustrated.

However, he became one of the best freshmen in college basketball en route to earning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year. While averaging a conference-high 19.5 points, Harper accumulated a 58.6% true shooting percentage, draining 40.4% of his 3-pointers. Additionally, his 18.6% assist rate was the second-best on the Bisons.

Standing 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, Harper’s size and skill set make him one of the most intriguing players in the portal. With SU needing ball handlers and forwards, following Chris Bell, Lucas Taylor and Jyáre Davis’ departures, Harper could fill those needs.

In the event the Orange add another guard next to Starling, they could opt to play a small-ball lineup with Freeman at center and White as the power forward. Or, SU could have White come off the bench and start a natural center.

The biggest strength for Syracuse in a possible pursuit of Harper would be Autry, whose recruiting hotbed is the DMV. Two of SU’s best recent recruits, Mintz and Freeman, are DMV natives.

Drayton Jones, center, South Carolina State
2024-25 stats: 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game

As SU’s roster currently stands, there are no centers. While Petar Majstorovic sometimes chipped in, Eddie Lampkin Jr. received the bulk of the minutes while Naheem McLeod carved out a role toward the end of the year. However, Lampkin and McLeod are now out of eligibility.

While Freeman’s return gives the Orange another option at center, their biggest need outside of a starting point guard is a center. For as dominant as many double-doubles Lampkin posted, his defensive limitations were apparent.

So, if SU opts for a more athletic option, Drayton Jones is an intriguing option. Averaging 23.6 minutes as a sophomore, the 6-foot-11, 245-pound center put up 13 points per game while shooting 56.4% from the field.

However, his defense stands out most. His 8.1% block percentage ranked 41st in the country, and he finished the 2024-25 campaign by blocking four or more shots in four of South Carolina State’s last five games.

Though he’s from Houston, Jones played for Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) in high school. If Syracuse pursues Jones, it can use 2003 National Champion and Oak Hill alumnus Carmelo Anthony in its recruitment. Jones is rated as On3’s No. 5 center in the portal.

Published on March 25, 2025 at 10:21 pm
Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon