Author: Damon Amendolara
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Syracuse Target Kyle Filipowski is Absolutely Killing It This Summer
There’s no doubt Kyle Filipowski has the size to be a difference-maker in college. The 6’10” forward has an enormous wingspan, quick feet, and an improving sense of the court. What is starting to bloom though, is his all-around smooth game. He’s growing into a big who can work around slower defenders, ball handle when…
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Creighton’s “NBA Style” Locks Down Kaluma’s Commitment
Most figured Arizona was the heavy favorite to land highly-prized Arthur Kaluma. They have been a Pac-12 powerhouse before the recent downturn. They had a new coaching staff with Gonzaga roots. They were the in-state lead horse. No one seemed to think Creighton had much of a shot (aside from The Fizz). The Bluejays are…
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Why are Arizona Fans Upset at The Fizz About Lute Olson Story and Kaluma?
All eyes in the college basketball recruiting world are on Arthur Kaluma right now. He’s the highest-rated prospect in the Class of ’21 left after decommitting from UNLV a few weeks ago. His finalists, as you know, are Syracuse, Arizona, Washington, and Creighton. The Wildcats are viewed as the favorite because of their proximity to…
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Freshman Sensation Pierre-Louis “Blessed” With Syracuse Offer, Powerhouses Also Chasing
Friday afternoon Tampa Catholic’s enormous Eddy Pierre-Louis announced he had received an offer from Syracuse. Competition will be intense for the 6’4″, 305 lb. standout. Florida, Florida State and Georgia have already offered him as well. Oh, and he’s Class of ’24. Yep, all this attention and he’s only entering his sophomore year. Last month,…
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Arizona’s Advantage in Landing Arthur Kaluma? Sean Miller is Gone
“He wanted the Sean Miller era over. He wanted to move on from it. He just felt like the program had gone through so much.” How bad did it get in Tuscon? Even Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson was tired of it. Olson has always been a gentleman, but before his death last summer…
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Arthur Kaluma’s Decision May Be Delayed: AAU Coach
Last week Arthur Kaluma’s AAU coach figured he’d make his decision by this Friday. This week he pushed out the date… kinda. Sean Stevens told Mike Waters he “expected Kaluma to have a decision by early next week and possibly sooner.” Sounds like the top-50 prospect may wait until after the weekend to commit, although…
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Could Creighton Really Land Arthur Kaluma? Yes
Creighton? Yes, Creighton. For the bluebloods and power-5 schools in college basketball it may seem strange to see the Blue Jays mentioned as a late contender for a top 50 recruit like Arthur Kaluma. But Creighton’s got momentum coming off a Sweet 16 run, and they’re one of the final four programs Kaluma is deciding…
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Top 50 Prospect Arthur Kaluma Will Commit by Friday: AAU Coach
The timetable is at warp speed for 6’8″ forward Arthur Kaluma. The 43rd ranked prospect by SI in the Class of ’21 took a slew of virtual meetings last week, and his head coach says he may decide by Friday. Just two weeks ago Kaluma was released from UNLV. Last week Mike McAllister caught up…
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Syracuse Gets Rewarded by Committee, Pulls Georgetown in NCAA Tournament
There’s been plenty of concern over Syracuse’s up-and-down season. The four blowout losses have been embarrassing to a program that has been one of the best in the sport’s history. But the NCAA Committee gave SU more credit than that, pitting them against 5-seed Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at…
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Horrifying Details Emerge from Chase Scanlan Incident, Teammates Knew the Truth
The team knew. Chase Scanlan’s teammates knew how bad it was. In the middle of this bizarre dance with suspension/reinstatement by John Desko, the players knew the extent of the abuse. Late Friday we discovered Scanlan allegedly squeezed the victim so tight she thought she’d die. It led to bruised ribs. He was arrested. The…
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Here’s Why Chase Scanlan Was Arrested but the Investigation is Still Open
Compared to the ugliness SU fans braced for, Chase Scanlan being arrested on a misdemeanor today felt extremely light. Friday morning on South Campus, Scanlan was arrested on what amounts to a destroyed phone. While fears of something far worse had built in CNY since the team threatened to walk out, a broken iPhone may…
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Boeheim Smartly Applauds the New Transfer Generation
Jim Boeheim might be prickly. He might be stubborn. He might be a bully. One thing he’s not? Stupid. While the exodus of Orange players has been jarring in some ways the last two years, you’re not going to catch Boeheim grousing. In an appearance on ESPN Radio, Boeheim continually applauded the new transfer culture…
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Syracuse Youth Has Reignited Fire Within the Program: CBS Sports
Chip Patterson at CBS Sports filed a piece on his ACC spring football overreactions. After last season’s nightmare, there’s nowhere to go but up. The only way to make ’20 palatable is if it paid dividends for the future. In Chip’s opinion, the losing did exactly that. “Syracuse already had a young roster last season,…
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So Zion Williamson Got Paid but Duke Gets to Slide?
By now we know what goes on in college basketball. It’s a story as old as the sport. Schools are desperate to win and garner attention. Boosters want their programs to be on TV and play deep into March Madness. Athletic departments demand the money keeps rolling in. The coaches need to keep their jobs.…
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Does Emoni Bates De-Committment Increase Ty Rodgers-to-Syracuse Odds?
Emoni Bates has been everywhere over the last year. The top-rated basketball prospect in the country. Deep-dive profiles by Sports Illustrated. Comparisons to Lebron James and Kobe Bryant in high school. His commitment to Michigan State was big news even if his odds of playing in college were slim. With an increasing number of paid…
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The Walls Are Closing in on Desko, SU Lax After Notre Dame Humiliation
There’s not much good news around Syracuse lacrosse. In fact, you could argue this is one of the low points in the program’s incredibly proud history. A domestic incident threatens to rip apart the team, the season, and invite national scrutiny. The defense is historically poor. The program won’t allow player interviews. Thank goodness for…
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Indiana’s Mike Woodson Uses Carmelo Against Syracuse to Recruit Filipowski
Indiana just used Syracuse against Syracuse to try and land Kyle Filipowski. He is rated as the 58th best player in the country, and is one of the most intriguing prospects in high school recruiting. This week Mike Woodson and his assistants hopped on Zoom to reiterate their interest in him, and IU highlighted the…
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This School is the Favorite to Land Donovan Clingan
He’s 7’1″ and only a junior in high school. Donovan Clingan has natural size and athleticism to make him a highly coveted prospect. He’s a top-50 player in his Class of ’22, and has narrowed his final list to eight schools. Syracuse is one of those eight. For the Bristol, Connecticut product, Syracuse has been…
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Why is John Desko Risking the Chase Scanlan Situation Exploding In His Face?
Photo credit: Rich Barnes, USA Today This is extremely delicate ice John Desko is traversing right now. By now we know the reason Chase Scanlan was originally suspended by the team. He was involved in a domestic incident on South Campus last weekend. We know his teammates are not giving him the benefit of the…
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Police Say Scanlan Involved in “Domestic Incident,” Desko Won’t Discuss
This afternoon we started to put the pieces together of the Chase Scanlan situation. According to a Syracuse.com report, Scanlan “was involved in what campus police labeled a domestic incident a day before he was suspended by the team, according to law enforcement sources and people familiar with the case.” He was not charged with…
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Why Have Syracuse Teammates Revolted Against Chase Scanlan?
More Fizz coverage: (5/8) Horrifying details emerge (5/7) Why Scanlan was arrested but investigation is still open (5/2) SU humiliated by ND, walls are closing in (4/29) Why is John Desko doubling down on his bizarre decision? (4/28) We find out Scanlan was involved in domestic incident The Chase Scanlan situation is one of the…
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Could Huntley-Hatfield Choosing UT Lead to Filipowski for Syracuse?
Funny how things work. Syracuse was tracking Brandon Huntley-Hatfield intensely since the start of the new year. While the 5-star power forward was a Tennessee native and the Vols were hot on him, the Orange jumped into the fray in January and started making headway. The SU staff was calling him non-stop and by the…
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Syracuse Is First In on Florida WR Derrick Bohler
This week Class of ’23 target Derrick Bohler received his first FBS offer, and it was from a Power 5 school: Syracuse. The Palmetto, FL wideout tweeted about it excitedly on Tuesday. Hey, even if it’s “Syracuse University” instead of “University of Syracuse,” we’ll let it slide. Bohler is fired up. Bohler checks in at…
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Will Indiana Benefit With Zion Cruz From Kentucky Staff Changes?
Two weeks ago, 5-star guard Zion Cruz competed in the New York Invitational. There, the Class of ’22 star said there are three schools he’s definitely targeting for official visits: Auburn, Georgia and Florida State. Bad news for such schools as Syracuse, Ohio State and Indiana, all of which have offered Cruz as well. But…
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Who’s the Front Runner for 4-Star Kyle Filipowski after Syracuse’s Surprise Offer?
Well, things just got interesting. Syracuse offered 4-star power forward Kyle “Flip” Filipowski this week. The Wilbraham, Massachusetts native is 6’10”, 215 lbs., part of the Class of ’22, and light on his feet. No Syracuse recruiting site seemed to have Filipowski as a target of SU. It’s relatively late in the process since he’s…
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Can Syracuse Benefit in Kentucky’s Coaching Staff Shakeup?
Kentucky suffered through its worst season under John Calipari, and one of the worst campaigns in program history. So you knew there would be changes. Today we learned what those changes will be (and maybe a few more on the way). Assistant coach Joel Justus is leaving. He will become the top assistant under Bobby…
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That Time Hopkins Head-Butted Carter-Williams in an Argument
Eric Devendorf has a podcast named “The Scorer’s Table,” and recently he spoke to Michael Carter-Williams. Devo asked MCW if there was a turning point in his collegiate career at Syracuse. Lo and behold we got an amazing story of the time Mike Hopkins was running practice and ran afoul of a frustrated Carter-Williams. Hopkins…
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4-Star Justin Taylor Admits He Was “Upset” and “Shocked” at Roy Williams’ Retirement
Syracuse has reportedly made 6’6″ shooter Justin Taylor a priority for the Class of ’22. He’s listed as a top 20 small forward in the nation, and has offered from UNC, Indiana, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech (among others). The Charlottesville product is being recruited heavily in the ACC, and The Fizz has written…
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Can Andre Cisco’s Draft Stock Help Syracuse Recruiting?
Andre Cisco is one of the most important players in recent Syracuse history. Not only was he tabbed by The Fizz as a top 100 athlete the school has ever seen, he holds in his hand the possibility of helping change SU football. Cisco has many draft evaluators drooling over his potential, and had he…
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Is Syracuse Recruiting Hurt By NYC’s Talent Void?
Over the weekend we detailed the reasons 5-star PF Brandon Huntley-Hatfield chose Tennessee over Syracuse, Kansas, Kentucky, Baylor and others. The Vols staff was on him early. They told him he’d be a lottery pick. There are available minutes immediately. And he’s part of a heralded class. There was also simple geography that hurt SU…
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Inside Story on Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Choosing Tennessee
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had plenty of power programs interested. Kentucky, Kansas, and Baylor were just a few of the big names seeking BHH’s combination of size and scoring. The 5-star power forward was originally a top 10 player in the Class of ’22, and the best at his position. Late this week he decided to reclassify…
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Film Room: Jimmy Boeheim’s Game Analysis, Making the ACC Leap
Central New York is abuzz with the latest addition to the Orange. Jimmy Boeheim chose Syracuse yesterday, marking a rarity in college basketball history. A pair of brothers will play for their coach at a D1 power program. The story is almost too good to be true, but the real test on whether this will…
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All Signs Point To Jimmy Boeheim Choosing Syracuse Today… Right?
It feels like the worst kept secret in college basketball. Syracuse wants Jimmy Boeheim. He’s a perfect shooter to add to the team. He wants to play at a high-major. His dad and brother are already there. He’s been an SU fan his whole life. He’s doing interviews in front of a Syracuse flag for…
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Reports: Jimmy Boeheim May Choose Syracuse Today
Matt Gutierrez of The Athletic isn’t the only one who assumes Jimmy Boeheim will choose to transfer to Syracuse. And he believes it’s imminent. “Here‚Äôs what I‚Äôve been told: Jimmy probably will commit to Syracuse any day now. The commitment could come before this weekend. I wouldn‚Äôt expect him to wait much longer than that.…
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Is Jimmy Boeheim a Syracuse Transfer Fit or Just a Good Story?
These days the transfer portal speculation runs all day, every day. More than 1,000 college basketball players are looking for new homes, not to mention the potential domino effect of those decisions. Playing time, shots taken, points scored, and starting jobs are all on the line with every one of these transfer situations. It has…
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Will Kevin Ollie Upend College Basketball Recruiting with Overtime Elite?
Kevin Ollie was a nemesis of Syracuse when he played at UConn, battling against the Orange(men) from ’91-’95 in Big East classics. He stood on the sideline against Jim Boeheim as head coach of the Huskies and both teams were still in the Big East, upsetting #6 SU in Hartford that season. In ’14 he…
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