Syracuse basketball PF recruit had stellar season, at 5 stars in composite

Syracuse basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Syracuse basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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As far as I can tell, the first scholarship offer that Syracuse basketball coaches doled out in the 2024 cycle went to 6-foot-9 power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C.

In recently updated national ratings from one of the primary recruiting services, Freeman checked in at No. 20 across the country in his class. At the time of this writing, he was also deemed a five-star prospect, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.

It’s still relatively early on in his recruiting process, but Freeman has said in past interviews that he heard from the Orange coaching staff regularly, and he has spoken highly about the Syracuse basketball program, saying he thinks he could make a good fit within the team’s system.

Freeman put forth a strong 2021-22 stanza for St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. As a sophomore there, he averaged 13 points and seven rebounds a game, per Jordan Divens, the MaxPreps national basketball editor.

In a recent article, Divens awarded Freeman an honorable-mention nod within his sophomore All-America squads for the 2021-22 term. According to a tweet from the St. John’s College High School, Freeman was also named to the 2022 All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) second team.

Let’s take a look at the recruitment of Syracuse basketball target Donnie Freeman.

The Orange coaching staff offered Freeman at the team’s annual Elite Camp this past August. As we’ve noted on a handful of occasions lately, the ‘Cuse appears to be pursuing numerous top-flight prospects in 2024, including Freeman.

Per his Twitter page, Freeman recently obtained an offer from Alabama, a squad from the Southeastern Conference that has done quite well on the recruiting trail in recent cycles.

Besides Alabama and Syracuse basketball, other offers have arrived for Freeman from teams including Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Xavier, George Mason and Old Dominion.

I’m highly confident that Freeman’s offer list is going to expand, and rather quickly, particularly as college coaches are able to start making direct contact with 2024 players in mid-June.

On the AAU circuit, Freeman suits up for the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. Others with ‘Cuse connections to have been a part of the Team Takeover program include current freshman forward Benny Williams and 2022 commit Justin Taylor, a four-star shooting guard/small forward.

Most of the main recruiting services rate Freeman as a four-star prospect, although as I already noted, the 247Sports Composite presently has him as five stars.

When ESPN recently refreshed its national rankings for the 2024 class, Freeman placed at No. 20 overall, No. 2 at power forward and No. 1 in Washington, D.C.

The 247Sports Composite has him at No. 25 nationally, while Rivals.com has him at No. 22, the On3 Consensus at No. 30 and 247Sports at No. 33.

Next. Syracuse Basketball: Projected starting rotation for the 2022-23 season. dark