Rapid Reaction: Naheem McLeod commitment latest in game of 'Musical Chairs'
Florida State transfer Naheem McLeod committed to Syracuse, he announced on social media. The Orange hosted McLeod on an official visit this weekend.
The 7-foot-4 center McLeod appeared in 28 games for the Seminoles in the 2022-23 season, averaging 3.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 1.2 bpg in 13.1 minutes. McLeod was a three-star Rivals prospect coming out of high school and has two years of eligibility remaining.
RAPID REACTION
The current NCAA transfer portal era in college sports is fascinating for fans and a new continual foray into roster management and talent acquisition for coaches. It causes certain roster turnover each season for both the Orange football and basketball teams.
Players who performed admirably for SU leave the program and are subsequently replaced by an interesting newcomer transferring in to fill a specific roster position.
In the case of former Florida State big man Naheem McLeod, who confirmed Monday via social media that he's headed to Syracuse, the 7-foot-4 McLeod steps in to replace West Virginia-bound Jesse Edwards. His subsequent arrival in Morgantown sent WVU center Jimmy Bell Jr. transferring to Mississippi State, where McLeod considered before ultimately deciding to stay in the familiar ACC.
It doesn't hurt that McLeod hails from another 'Cuse recruiting hotspot—Philadelphia, and with a skill set that figures to improve he brings much-needed experience down low having competed against top-level conference players. That includes a career-best 16 points/8 rebounds in a FSU home loss to SU this past season.
This latest transfer portal roster shuffling also allows for envisioning what a hypothetical off-season Syracuse basketball transaction announcement would look like:
“The Orange traded guards Joe Girard to Clemson and Symir Torrence to Binghamton, centers Jesse Edwards to West Virginia, and John Bol Ajak to a destination to be determined, in exchange for guards JJ Starling from Notre Dame, Chance Westry from Auburn, and center Naheem McLeod from Florida State.”
Now there's one last piece of the basketball roster puzzle to be finalized.
Judah Mintz is showcasing his play this week at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago and has until May 31 to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft to maintain his college eligibility.
If Mintz departs another guard is likely to be wooed aboard by the coaching staff.
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