Syracuse Basketball: New wing target soars into rankings, verge of 5 stars

Syracuse basketball recently made its first scholarship offer within the 2024 cycle, and this new prospect has jumped into the national rankings from one recruiting service in a big-time way.

ESPN recently published its updated ratings of the top-25 players across the country within the 2024 class. Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9 wing from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, made the cut in these rankings.

Freeman, who was offered by the Orange coaching staff at the team’s recent Elite Camp, checks in as four stars and No. 20 overall, according to ESPN.

Although I’ve seen Freeman described as a shooting guard and a small forward, ESPN’s bio for him labels him as a power forward. In any event, ESPN says that Freeman is the No. 5 power forward in the 2024 cycle, as well as the No. 1 prospect in Washington, D.C.

Based on ESPN’s current 2024 rankings, it appears as though Freeman is really close to reaching five-star status. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if all of the primary recruiting Web sites eventually rate him as a five-star, top-20 player in the 2024 class.

Syracuse basketball is in the recruiting mix for four-star wing Donnie Freeman.

As we noted in a recent column on Freeman, he is heading into his sophomore year at St. John’s College High School in the District of Columbia.

On the AAU circuit, he runs with D.C.-based Team Takeover, which is the same grassroots basketball team where 2022 four-star commit Justin Taylor and ‘Cuse freshman forward Benny Williams have also suited up.

Per Freeman’s Twitter page, he recently landed a new offer from Big East Conference member Xavier. He has other offers from squads including Maryland, Old Dominion and long-time Big East rival Georgetown, according to the Verbal Commits Web site.

Recent media reports and tweets from recruiting insiders also suggest that Freeman is garnering interest from groups such as Villanova, Connecticut, Rutgers, Marquette, Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Seton Hall.

Given that Freeman is a top-20 player in his cycle, I’d expect him to pick up many additional offers from high-major programs in the near future.

It’s terrific that Orange coaches have gotten involved with Freeman early on in his recruiting process. Competition for him will absolutely continue to heat up.