Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orangemen are pretty good at this recruiting game.
On Friday, the Orangemen received their third – and highest rated – commitment from the Class of 2011. Rakeem Christmas, Scout.com’s No. 9 prospect and top overall center, pledged his allegiance.
``I had a lot of great options, but I fell in love with Syracuse,” said Christmas. ``I know a lot of the guys on the team and that made a difference in my decision. I also felt that I could fit in well with their system.”
Christmas plays high school ball at Bryn Athyn (Pa.) Academy of New Church. He runs on the same AAU team – Team Final – as Trevor Cooney, Syracuse’s first commitment from the class. They’ll team up with guard Michael Carter-Williams to form one of the country’s top recruiting classes.
Christmas visited Syracuse last weekend. Florida, Florida International, Georgetown, Oklahoma, Rutgers and Texas.
Christmas has a well-earned reputation for blocking shots. He’s participating in the Nike Global games this weekend in Portland, Ore.