Rapid Reaction: Chance Westry is another win for Syracuse and Red Autry
Auburn transfer guard Chance Westry committed Syracuse on Monday afternoon, according to multiple reports.
He becomes the second recruit to commit to Syracuse head coach Red Autry after Jim Boeheim retired after a 47-year coaching career. He appeared in 11 games for the Tigers last season and averaged 2.5 ppg and 1.0 apg before redshirting.
RAPID REACTION
The Syracuse basketball roster continues to evolve with Mondays announcement that 6-foot-6 combo guard Chance Westry is transferring into the program after an injury plagued freshman season at Auburn.
Westry joins JJ Starling in the new look Orange backcourt after Symir Torrence and Joe Girard transferred out in March. Westry will also provide depth if Judah Mintz decides to stay in the 2023 NBA Draft in June.
Westry was a top 50 recruit in 2022, and like Starling, was well known to the SU coaching staff as a one-time Pennsylvania scholastic star before finishing his high school career in California and Arizona, and then committing to Auburn.
He’s a versatile player with the flexibility to play both point guard and shooting guard, and even move up to the front court on the wing as a shooter. His height and length will allow him to fit perfectly into Adrian Autry‘s defensive schemes in both man-to-man or zone.
A preseason knee injury that required surgery limited Westry to just 11 games at Auburn this past season. But as is the case with the evolution of the transfer portal era in college hoops, he’ll have an opportunity to make a fresh start in a new program and have his skills fine tuned by a coaching staff that is familiar with all aspects of his game.
SU's sales pitch convinced Westry to pick SU over Big East members Creighton, St. John’s and Seton Hall along with home state school Penn State. Westry also made his decision primarily based on his career development, what the coaching staff can do for his game and his professional prospects more so than NIL money in the near term.
That is certainly a refreshing take in the current college hoops landscape in which collectives and boosters provide the financial foundation necessary to build out scholarship rosters.
The commitment of Westry is another big positive roster addition for Autry and his staff as they form the new look Orange roster that will look to snap the program’s two year streak of not qualifying for the NCAA tournament.
----
Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!
Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.
Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.
Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.