Syracuse Basketball: 4-star big named to 1st team in top-flight D.C. league

Four-star power forward Donnie Freeman, who holds a Syracuse basketball offer and is one of the top big men across the country in the 2024 class, has produced a special junior season for his high school in our nation’s capital.

Recently, according to social media posts, the 6-foot-9 Freeman was named to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) All-League first team for the 2022-23 season after placing on the second squad a stanza ago.

Freeman is a standout for St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., which has proven a top 20 group on a national scale for much of the current campaign.

St. John’s, as a member of the WCAC, suits up against some of the premier high-school teams nationwide, and Freeman has led the way for the Cadets in 2022-23. To that end, on Monday night, the No. 2 seed St. John’s captured the 2023 WCAC tournament title with a 65-63 upset of No. 1 seed St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va.

According to Legit Sport Stats, in that championship bout, Freeman tallied 16 points and was 8-of-12 from the field.

Syracuse basketball four-star target Donnie Freeman is a top player in Washington, D.C.

I’ve tried to find statistics for Freeman’s full 2022-23 season, but I haven’t had any luck with that. That being said, he certainly has had a terrific 2022-23, given his placement on the WCAC All-League first team.

In grassroots basketball, Freeman suits up for one of the best AAU programs out there, the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

Multiple recruiting services rate him as a top-40 national player, a top-10 power forward and the No. 1 prospect in D.C. within the 2024 cycle.

Freeman, last November, didn’t include the Orange in his top five, which at the time consisted of Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa, LSU and Texas. But about a month later, he said that his recruitment remained open.

By extension, in late January, SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister reported that Syracuse basketball coaches were back in Freeman’s recruitment and aggressively pursuing him. It’s not entirely clear to me whether that is still the case, though.

Freeman was the first 2024 high-school player to land a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff, getting that offer in August of 2021 at the team’s annual Elite Camp.

I’ve said more than once that it’s vital for Syracuse basketball to land an official visit from Freeman if the ‘Cuse realistically hopes to prevail in his recruiting process. In January, he took an official visit to Alabama.

Throughout his recruitment, Freeman’s offer sheet has included LSU, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Iowa, Texas, Rutgers, Marquette, Bryant, Ole Miss, VCU, Norfolk State, Alabama, Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Xavier, George Mason and Old Dominion.