Syracuse Basketball: D.C. 5-star big man planning visits; will SU get one?

Talented five-star big man Donnie Freeman, who received a Syracuse basketball scholarship offer more than a year ago, is in the midst of mapping out official and unofficial visits, according to several recent media reports.

In late August, the 6-foot-9 power forward made an unofficial visit to Rutgers, and he previously had taken an unofficial visit to Maryland in June.

Later in September, the consensus top-50 player in the 2024 recruiting cycle is expected to take an official visit to Iowa, per a recent article from Rivals.com national analyst Travis Graf.

In that piece, other schools that could be in line for official visits from Freeman in the near future include Alabama and Texas.

Syracuse basketball has been recruiting five-star big man Donnie Freeman for a while now.

Orange coaches offered Freeman in August of 2021 at the team’s annual Elite Camp, and it was the first offer doled out by the ‘Cuse in the 2024 class.

Freeman has said more than once, including in a recent interview with On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw, that Syracuse basketball is among the squads in regular communication with him.

Freeman also said on his Twitter page not too long ago that he has been eyeing an official visit to the ‘Cuse in the “near future.”

Besides the Orange, Freeman’s offer sheet includes Pittsburgh, Iowa, Texas, Rutgers, Marquette, Bryant, Ole Miss, VCU, Norfolk State, Alabama, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Xavier, George Mason and Old Dominion. Louisville and others are also showing reported interest in him.

Heading into his junior season at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., Freeman played for the D.C.-based Team Takeover this spring and summer in Nike’s EYBL league.

Playing up one year with the Team Takeover 17 and under group, Freeman helped lead this AAU squad to the championship game of the annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C.

Team Takeover fell in the final contest, 53-52, to the Overland Park, Kan.-based MoKan Elite.

In his interview with Graf, Freeman mentioned a handful of suitors firmly in the mix at this juncture, including Iowa, Texas, Alabama, Georgetown, Rutgers and Maryland.

"In a recent story from On3 national analyst Joe Tipton, when asked what he’s looking for in a future collegiate program, Freeman said in part, “I don’t want to force anything when it comes to schools. So I’m looking for something that just feels natural. I want to play for a player’s coach, someone who really cares for his players.”"

When I penned this column, Freeman was rated No. 24 from Rivals.com, No. 25 from the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, No. 26 per ESPN, No. 31 via the industry-generated On3 Consensus, No. 33 by 247Sports and No. 42 from On3.