The Orange claim their fourth transfer of this offseason.
Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
Syracuse Orange men’s basketball coach Adrian Autry’s progress in acquiring more talent to the Orange’s roster continues after former Kansas Jayhawks guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. announced his decision to transfer on Thursday.
Cuffe brings some value to the table and gives the Orange some more guard depth in the long-term, but the biggest question mark moving forward will be his availability this season. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard redshirted at Kansas during the Jayhawks’ 2021-2022 championship run, then suited up for just two games this past season before tearing his MCL and PCL, missing the rest of 2022-2023.
NEWS: Kansas transfer Kyle Cuffe Jr. has committed to Syracuse, he tells @On3sports.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 18, 2023
Story: https://t.co/yipwKAbdk6 pic.twitter.com/rXIHL0E6Pw
Cuffe told on3.com that he choose to transfer to Syracuse over programs like New Mexico State, Tulane, Richmond and Western Kentucky, among others.
Despite the injury concerns, Cuffe’s potential as a two-way force at the guard spot is clearly there after a productive career at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. Prior to his time in Kansas, he averaged 16 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game, and 2.0 steals per game in 2019-2020. He played just two games in 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, averaging 25 points per game in both those contests before joining the Jayhawks. Rivals.com ranked him as the 56th-best prospect at the end of his senior year at Blair Academy.
Cuffe has strong ties with Autry and the rest of the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s coaching staff. He confimed to syracuse.com his early connections with Autry as well as assistants Allen Griffin and Gerry McNamara. Cuffe participated in Syracuse basketball’s Elite Camp and played alongside J.J. Starling, a former five-star recruit from Baldwinsville, New York who played for Notre Dame in 2022-2023 before announcing his decision to transfer to the Orange. Are you starting to sense a pattern here?
Cuffe joins Starling, Auburn’s Chance Westry, and Florida State’s Naheem McLeon as the fourth transfer player Autry has secured since he took over as the Orange’s coach in March.
Given his current injuries, it’s unclear if Cuffe will play a featured role this season. With or without Judah Mintz, Cuffe gives the Orange another high-upside guard on the roster. Cuffe currently has three years of eligibility left with the likelihood of receiving a medical redshirt for last season.
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What are your thoughts on adding Cuffe to the roster and what will be his role moving forward with the Orange?
