Syracuse Basketball: 5-star D.C. big man plans to take official visit to ‘Cuse

A five-star, top-35 prospect in the 2024 class told a national recruiting analyst that he’s eyeing an official visit to Syracuse basketball and a few other schools down the line.

Donnie Freeman, a talented 6-foot-9 power forward from Washington, D.C., who had a really strong sophomore campaign during the 2021-22 term, received a scholarship offer from the Orange at the team’s annual Elite Camp this past August.

I believe that this offer to Freeman was the first one made by the ‘Cuse coaching staff in the 2024 cycle. As we’ve noted on several occasions of late, Syracuse basketball has offered numerous top-flight players in this class, including Freeman.

He suits up for St. John’s College High School in D.C., as well as for the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league on the AAU circuit.

In 2021-22, as a stand-out for St. John’s College High School, Freeman was named to the 2022 All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) second squad.

Syracuse basketball appears to be in a good position with five-star Donnie Freeman.

In a recent interview with Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy, Freeman said that when he is able to make official visits to college campuses, he plans to go to the Orange, Georgetown and Maryland, among others.

He noted that he’s also trying to take a trip to Alabama. The Crimson Tide, by the way, recently offered Freeman.

It’s highly encouraging that he is eyeing an official visit to the Hill. Ever since the ‘Cuse offered him last summer, Freeman has said some positive things about the Syracuse basketball program in a variety of interviews.

His recruiting process likely has a way to go, but Freeman has already landed offers from teams such as the Orange, Alabama, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Xavier, George Mason and Old Dominion, according to his Twitter page and recruiting services.

In mid-June, college coaches will be able to start making direct contact with high-school prospects in the 2024 class, and I would imagine Freeman will see his offer list grow, and rather quickly.

"Regarding the ‘Cuse, Freeman said to Cassidy, “I really like their past and the players that have come before me. They do well with guys like me – guys with my kind of long, wiry frame. I have a good relationship with some of the coaches already, too.”"

Syracuse basketball coaches have great relationships with AAU groups in the D.C. market. For example, two recent members of the Team Takeover program were current freshman forward Benny Williams and 2022 signee Justin Taylor, a four-star shooting guard/small forward.

When I penned this column, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite had rated Freeman as a five-star player in 2024. Most other recruiting services presently have him as four stars, and he’s also within the top-35 nationally in his cycle, according to virtually all of the main recruiting Web sites.

We’ll obviously continue to track Freeman’s recruitment moving forward. I really hope that the Orange remains a contender for him. Freeman is a nice young man who has a lot of skills and works his butt off to continue evolving his craft.