Reid Ducharme Impressed by Syracuse's Culture on Official Visit
One of Syracuse basketball's top targets in the 2023 class is sharpshooting guard Reid Ducharme. The 6-7 shooting guard, who stars for BABC on the EYBL circuit and Brewster Academy in high school, got to see just about every aspect of the program during his trip.
"I was able to workout with the players," Ducharme said. "I did that both days. I had meetings with academic advisors. I looked at the Faulk school, that was pretty interesting. They have an NIL class that they just started, so I like that. Had meetings with coach. We went to coach Boeheim's house for a barbecue with the pool and lawn games and the players. That was fun."
The workout with the players included pickup games with current Orange players.
"The first day we played five on five," Ducharme said. "The second day we were only able to play four on four. We got to go up and down a lot, kind of a look at how they run their offense. Not the full offense, but the baseline stuff in how they operate and what they're looking for. It was really cool to play with them.
"We kept switching up so it was never the same team. I pretty much played with everybody on the team. I thought I played well. I didn't feel out of my place. I felt confident playing with those guys. I felt like I belonged there. It was good to see guys like Joe Girard, who is recognized in college basketball, and see how they work to learn from them and guys like that on the court."
The barbecue at Jim Boeheim's house was also a highlight as it allowed Ducharme to see the personal side of the coaches as well as the culture of the program.
"It was awesome," Ducharme said. "It was good to see the culture that they brought and that it was a normal thing for them. To see how close they are with the other coaches bringing their families along. Everybody knows each other, everybody's happy hanging out at the house. It was good to see the culture and that it's important to make everybody feel like family."
The Syracuse coaches also spoke at length about how Ducharme would fit within the program.
"I feel like their plan for me, obviously they want me to commit," Ducharme said. "They see me as a two, three kind of guard. They've had a lot of historic guards in their program so they feel like I'd be able to fit in their system, their offense and how they play. They think my play style replicates that."
The visit was a strong one for Ducharme, who is now looking towards his two other officials (Penn State and Xavier) before going into decision making mode.
"I've got other visits to come," Ducharme said. "I'm going to use this as a first look into the visit process. It was definitely a great visit and I enjoyed it a lot. Very grateful for that opportunity. It definitely helped my decision with Syracuse, but I still have those two other visits. Haven't really leaned one way or the other, just trying to see all the options. Still trying to keep things as even as possible."
The decision making timeframe remains sometime after the visits before the start of his senior season.
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