Chris Bunch on Orange Visit: 'It Definitely Made My Interest in Syracuse a Lot Higher'

Syracuse hosted one of the top forwards in the 2022 class for an official visit recently.

Class of 2022 Concord (CA) De La Salle forward Chris Bunch holds offers from Creighton, Florida State, Iowa State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, San Diego State, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Syracuse and USC, among others. Bunch took an official visit to Syracuse recently, and AllSyracuse.com caught up with him to see how it went. 

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Q: How was the visit?

Bunch: "The Syracuse visit was good. I finally got to meet coach Boeheim in person. We got to talk a little bit. It was my first time being in the Dome, I got to put on a jersey. It felt like the whole Syracuse experience. I got to watch workouts and played a couple pickup games with them too. It was good." 

Q: How did the pick up games go?

Bunch: "I knew Buddy and Jim, Boeheim's sons. We were on the same team. We won three in a row. The first game, I was a little intimidated getting bumped around because I'm not used to going against these college kids. About the second, third game, I got real comfortable and just started playing. Me, Buddy and Jim won about three games in a row."

Q: What is your impression of coach Boeheim after meeting him for the first time?

Bunch: "He's a great coach, but the one thing from meeting him, talking to him is he's an even better person as I got to talk to him and be around him a lot. He really just cares about basketball and his kids, trying to get better. He's a players coach too. Syracuse isn't, how a lot of people say, a coach driven team. It's a players driven team. Players when they play, he lets them go. It's up to them how they play. That's one thing I really got from being at Syracuse." 

Q: What type of role is Syracuse expecting you to play?

Bunch: "Talking to them and watching some film in the film room, basically it's me coming in and them putting me in my spots to score. Me coming in immediately as a freshman, being a priority. They told me multiple times I'm really the only kid at the position that they're recruiting hard. I'm who they want. I'm their priority. Just coming in and, maybe not being the number one guy, but being a scorer. And if that's the number one guy I don't know what is." 

Q: What was your dad's impression of the visit?

Bunch: "My dad's from the east coast so he knows about Syracuse and coach Boeheim. He's actually met him before I had. He loved it. It was a great experience. That might have been his first time in the Dome, too. Even just walking around the campus, I could tell he really liked it." 

Q: How was it spending time with the Syracuse players?

Bunch: "I was mainly hanging out with Buddy and the point guard Sy (Torrence) who just got there from Marquette. I was hanging out with those two. It was really good. They basically treated me like a teammate. Showing me around, letting me chill with them at night, we had dinner over, letting me be comfortable and being friendly. That's one thing is that they were all friendly, coming up to me and having conversations. It was cool to hang out with everyone. The kid from Villanova (Cole Swider), he just transferred too, but they all treated me really well. Great people." 

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Q: Where does Syracuse stand with you in your recruitment after the visit?

Bunch: "Being at Syracuse, Syracuse in the recent years hasn't been as good as they were, but coming at Syracuse, seeing coach Boeheim and hearing how much interest he has in me, even just walking around the place, it definitely gave me more interest. At the end of the day, it's the Dome. I haven't really experienced any colleges yet so I can't really compare it to anything else. But it was a great experience being able to walk the same halls as Carmelo Anthony. Realizing what type of school that is and what it can do for me as a player. It definitely made my interest in Syracuse a lot higher." 

Q: What's next for you in the recruiting process?

Bunch: "I'm at Rutgers right now, finishing my first day today (Thursday). I'm thinking of another visit because I go to Peach Jam. I'm going to narrow down the list by the end of the summer."