In one week, Syracuse went from no verbal commitments from the Class of 2008 to two.

SU men’s basketball received a commitment Thursday from James Southerland, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Cardozo High School in Bayside, N.Y. Three days earlier, SU locked up Kris Joseph, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C.

Southerland will become the first New York City prospect to play for Syracuse since Louie McCroskey came to SU in 2003. Southerland averaged 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds for Cardozo, perennially one of the better NYC public schools.

‘Syracuse was my No. 1 school since I started watching college basketball in seventh grade,’ Southerland told The Daily Orange. ‘They have a Hall of Fame coach and a lot of shooting guards, and small forwards they developed.’

Southerland specifically mentioned former SU standouts John Wallace, Carmelo Anthony and Demetris Nichols. He continued to describe himself as a shooter and liked the way Syracuse used those wing players – like Nichols – within its offense.

At 16 years old, Southerland is young for a high school junior. Because of his age, there is a possibility that he could attend a prep school or redshirt his freshman season.

‘I’m not really sure,’ Southerland said about his plans. ‘They talked about (redshirting). Redshirting would make (the adjustment) lot easier.’

Southerland said Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins told him he would play right away in his freshman season, whenever that season is. No one on the SU coaching staff is allowed to comment on a prospective player until the player signs a National Letter of Intent in his senior season.

‘A fifth year is possible,’ Cardozo head coach Ron Naclerio said. ‘James is maturing. You can notice a change in him. There’s more seriousness, more time in the library. His parents are saying he’s spending more time with books open. He’s spending more time in the weight room instead of too much time on TV or too much time with the girlfriend.’

Another advantage of his age is that Southerland is still growing. Naclerio described Southerland as a ‘skinny 190 (pounds),’ and doesn’t think he’ll cap out at 6-foot-7, either. Naclerio said Southerland wears a size 15 sneaker.

Southerland came to Syracuse’s basketball camp last summer and impressed the coaching staff. Naclerio said he knew after talking to the SU staff that they were interested in Southerland.

‘They got a chance to see him. They got to see him shooting, passing, scrimmaging, playing one-on-one,’ Naclerio said. ‘(Hopkins) said to me, ‘Everything you said about him is true.”

Hopkins went to Cardozo to watch Southerland last week and Naclerio told Southerland he felt the Orange would leave with a scholarship offer. Southerland couldn’t believe his head coach.

‘He was like Jackie Gleason: ‘Hamana-hamana-hamana,” Naclerio said, referring to the comedian famous for The Honeymooners. ‘But I thought they’d offer. Jim (Boeheim) has never lied to me before.’

Naclerio discussed the advantages and disadvantages with Southerland and his parents, but Southerland didn’t want to wait. He already received offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, St. Joseph’s and Hofstra, but Syracuse was his top choice and there was no point for him to the delay the process.

‘I knew that was my No. 1 school,’ Southerland said. ‘I knew if I got Syracuse, I’d go.’

Published on April 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm