The Syracuse basketball coaching staff, led by new head coach Adrian Autry, is recruiting 2024 four-star big man Donnie Freeman quite hard these days, and a media report says that the talented power forward is eyeing an official visit to the Hill next month.
The 6-foot-9 Freeman, a consensus top-60 national prospect in the junior cycle, met with Autry this past Friday, as first reported by recruiting and scouting director Houston Wilson.
Autry traveled to St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., to discuss a variety of topics with Freeman, according to an article from SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister.
Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry is meeting with 2024 Donnie Freeman of @SJCBoysHoops and @TTOBasketball today per a source.
— Houston Wilson (@houston_wilson1) March 24, 2023
Since taking over as the Orange’s head coach earlier this month, replacing long-time boss Jim Boeheim, Autry has proven extremely active on the recruiting trail, which is delightful to see.
Syracuse basketball is putting on a full-court press for 2024 four-star big man Donnie Freeman.
Freeman is a standout junior for St. John’s College High School, which has been a top-20 team across the country for much of the 2022-23 campaign.
About a month ago, he was named to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) All-League first team for the 2022-23 term, an impressive achievement because this conference is absolutely loaded with talented squads and players.
In 2022-23, Donnie Freeman has averaged 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, according to a recent tweet from high-school hoops analyst Alex Karamanos.
2024 4 ⭐️ Donnie Freeman (@DonavanFreeman1) averaged a near double-double this season at St. John’s (DC)
— Alex Karamanos (@TheCircuitAlex) March 13, 2023
21.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.5 BPG
Versatile PF that can make shots
Holds offers from Alabama, Iowa, Texas, Maryland, Rutgers, and more pic.twitter.com/UGMvUWhRlG
Freeman, rated a top-40 overall prospect, a top-10 power forward and the No. 1 player in our nation’s capital within the 2024 class by most recruiting Web sites, was offered a scholarship from the ‘Cuse in August of 2021.
On the AAU circuit, he competes for the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. Autry, as I noted in a recent column, has extensive recruiting ties in the fertile Washington market and, specifically, with the Team Takeover program.
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, Donnie Freeman disclosed a top five of Rutgers, Maryland, Iowa, LSU and Texas, but about a month later, he said that his recruitment remained open. McAllister reported in late January of this year that Syracuse basketball coaches were back in the mix for Freeman.
According to McAllister’s recent article, Freeman said that the Orange, Alabama, Texas and others are recruiting him hard these days. Freeman went on an official visit to Alabama this past January; he took an official visit to Texas in October of last year.
"Next month, Donnie Freeman plans to take an official visit to Syracuse basketball, per McAllister’s latest story. “My spring break is the 6th through the 17th of April, so we’ll probably try to get it in sometime in there,” Freeman said. “I want to be comfortable, see how they treat their players on campus. I want the right fit. I don’t really want to force anything. Just looking for the right fit. I want to feel comfortable where I’m at, like a home away from home.”"