Former Plymouth Whitemarsh center Naheem McLeod transfers to Syracuse

Syracuse unveiled its new last line of defense for its trademark 2-3 zone Tuesday with the commitment of Florida State transfer Naheem McLeod.

The 7-foot-4 center, who played the last two seasons at Florida State, is a Philadelphia native who attended Plymouth Whitemarsh for high school. He had revealed earlier this month that he would be joining the Orange, who lost starting center Jesse Edwards to the transfer portal. Last season, McLeod averaged 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in just over 13 minutes per game for the Seminoles.

McLeod was a Class 6A first-team all-state selection as a junior and senior at Plymouth Whitemarsh. As a high school senior, he averaged 19.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks for the Colonials. Before Florida State, he played two years of junior college ball at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla.

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At 7-4, he becomes the tallest player in Syracuse history and continues a rich history of Philadelphia players to play basketball at there that includes Hakim Warrick, Rakeem Christmas, Dion Waiters, Rick Jackson, and Scoop Jardine. McLeod joins an Orange program that is in a period of transition after Jim Boeheim was let go after 47 years. Boeheim was replaced by his longtime assistant Adrian Autry.

McLeod has two years of college eligibility remaining.