Syracuse basketball staff’s strong DC recruiting ties can help with 4-star PF

New Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry has strong recruiting ties to the fertile Washington, D.C., market. And media reports suggest he may soon hire a third assistant coach who, too, has deep connections to the recruiting world in the D.C. metropolitan region.

Multiple players on the current Orange roster played either high-school or AAU ball in the Washington area, including sophomore forward Benny Williams, freshman point guard Judah Mintz and freshman wing Justin Taylor.

Autry as the ‘Cuse head coach is already a huge plus for the team’s recruiting efforts in the D.C. region. I’m hopeful that the “new” Syracuse basketball coaching staff, which may soon include a new addition, will prove successful in luring 2024 four-star power forward Donnie Freeman to the Hill.

The 6-foot-9 Freeman is a consensus top-60 national prospect in the junior cycle. Most recruiting services rate him as a top-10 power forward in the 2024 class, as well as the No. 1 prospect coming out of our nation’s capital.

Syracuse basketball offered a scholarship to big man Donnie Freeman in August of 2021.

Freeman was awesome as a junior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, which for much of the 2022-23 stanza was a top-20 squad across the country.

Not too long ago, he was named to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) All-League first team for the 2022-23 term.

Per a recent tweet from high-school hoops analyst Alex Karamanos, as a junior, Freeman averaged 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.

The Orange coaching staff, led by Autry, is quite familiar with Freeman’s AAU program, the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

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.

Last November, he disclosed a top five of Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa, LSU and Texas, but about a month later, Freeman said his recruitment remained open.

In late January of this year, SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister reported that the ‘Cuse was back in the mix for Freeman. Throughout his recruitment, he has taken several campus visits, with the most recent one being an official visit to Alabama this past January.

It would prove huge if Syracuse basketball coaches could get Freeman to Central New York for an official visit. He has spoken highly of the Orange in numerous interviews during his recruiting process, and the new SU coaching staff lately has injected a lot of buzz and excitement into the program and its fan base.