Syracuse commit Jalen Carey will play in the 2018 Jordan Brand Classic, an annual high school all-star game, on Sunday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He will share the court with former Syracuse commit Darius Bazley, one of the top-10 players in the country who decommitted from Syracuse on March 29.

Twelve former Syracuse players have appeared in the showcase: Carmelo Anthony (2002), Paul Harris and Mike Jones (2006), Donte Greene (2007), Dion Waiters (2010), Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Christmas and Mike Gbinije (2011), Jerami Grant (2012), Tyler Ennis (2013), Chris McCullough (2014) and Malachi Richardson (2015). Frank Howard and Tyler Lydon played in the 2015 regional game.

Here are three things to know ahead of Sunday afternoon contest, a showcase of some of the best high school players in the country.

A look at Jalen Carey

For the first time in three years, a Syracuse player is rostered for the game. Six-foot-3 shooting guard Jalen Carey, a senior at Immaculate Conception (New Jersey) High School, is a playmaker with creativity around the rim. He can shoot well from 3-point range, attack the rim and create off the dribble. Carey chose the Orange over national champion Villanova, Connecticut and Kansas, among others. He’s the No. 4 high school player from New Jersey in his class, per ESPN. Carey visited Syracuse last September and committed in October. He recently became the first player in his county (Essex) to score 2,000 career points since 2006.

If no SU player from last season enters the NBA Draft, Carey will join Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, Elijah Hughes and Howard Washington in the backcourt.

Darius Bazley

In March, Bazley became the third SU commit since 2012 to appear in the McDonald’s All-American game. He had 11 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes.

But on March 29, Bazley decommitted from Syracuse to turn professional in the G League. Bazley, the No. 9 recruit in ESPN’s 2018 rankings, committed to SU back in July 2017.  The 6-foot-9 power forward out of Princeton (Cincinnati) High School headlined Syracuse’s 2018 recruiting class that features No. 37 recruit Carey and Buddy Boeheim, son of SU head coach Jim Boeheim.

“He would’ve been a big piece for us, but we just got to work around that now,” Carey said last week. “(Syracuse) made the Sweet 16 this year without him so we just going to have to find a way to get back.”

Bazley will display his game for professional scouts and provide SU fans a look at what he would have brought to the Orange in 2018-19.

A glance at future opponents

The Jordan Brand Classic rosters are loaded with players committed to Atlantic Coast Conference schools, offering a glimpse of who the best freshmen in the ACC will be, come this fall. Eight of the 24 rostered players, or one-third, will play for an ACC team next season.

Four future Duke Blue Devils headline the rosters: Cam Reddish, R.J. Barrett, Tre Jones and Zion Williamson. Duke reached the Elite Eight last season with a win over Syracuse in the Sweet 16, and while the Blue Devils will lose at least two starters to the draft, they’ll reload with these talented freshmen, starting with Reddish. Wake Forest commit Jaylen Hoard and North Carolina commits Nassir Little and Coby White also will play Sunday.

Duke has four commits in the JBC, Syracuse has one, not including Bazley, North Carolina has two and Wake Forest has one, which is eight total — far more than any other conference.

Published on April 5, 2018 at 8:12 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21