Syracuse men’s basketball: Orange showing interest in Temple transfer

Mar 22, 2023 - 3:00 PM

Syracuse Orange associate head coach Gerry McNamara reached out to Temple transfer Zach Hicks, according to reports from Stockrisers and Mike McAllister.

Hicks, a 6-foot-7 forward from Camden, NJ, was a three-star prospect out of high school. He held offers from Temple, Richmond, La Salle, Missouri, Drexel and Siena, according to On3.

In Hicks’ freshman campaign at Temple, he played in 28 games — all off the bench. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.1 boards in roughly 21 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 35 points against Delaware State on 10-of-16 from deep.

As a sophomore, Hicks started and tallied 32 minutes a game, averaging 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.

Hicks is a high-volume 3-point shooter. In his two seasons at Temple, 78% (388-of-500) of his shots came from behind-the-arc.

Hicks told Mike McAllister that McNamara reached out with the pitch that Syracuse needs shooting at the forward position. He can certainly provide that.

Right now — assuming Mintz doesn’t return and everyone else does — Syracuse has two available scholarships for next season. That includes the additions of five-star transfer JJ Starling and three-star center William Patterson.

Unofficial scholarship count: Jesse Edwards, Joe Girard, Mounir Hima, Benny Williams, Chris Bell, Maliq Brown, Peter Carey, Quadir Copeland, JJ Starling, Justin Taylor and William Patterson.

Syracuse should return three scholarship forwards next season in Benny Williams, Chris Bell and Maliq Brown. Hicks would add depth to the front court and have a chance to contribute right away.

It’s unclear if McNamara offered Hicks a scholarship at this point, and it’ll be interesting to see if the staff touches base with any other available forwards.