Syracuse basketball lands analyst predictions for 4-star big man from D.C.

Syracuse basketball is receiving analyst buzz in the recruitment of 2024 four-star priority target Donnie Freeman.

On Monday night, at least two predictions arrived in the direction of the Orange on Rivals.com for the 6-foot-9 power forward from Washington, D.C.

On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw, in a recent article, noted that the ‘Cuse has momentum in the recruiting process of Freeman, who is a top-60 national prospect in the junior cycle, per all of the main recruiting services.

Also on Monday evening, On3’s recruiting prediction machine had Syracuse basketball in the No. 1 position for Freeman, with the Orange having a slight lead over Alabama. Last but not least, there was this tweet on Monday night from top scout Andrew Slater of Cerebro Sports.

Syracuse basketball is recruiting 2024 four-star big man Donnie Freeman extremely hard.

Freeman is a standout for St. John’s College High School in D.C., which was a nationally ranked squad in the 2022-23 campaign, as well as the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league.

As I’ve noted on numerous occasions lately, the ‘Cuse coaching staff has strong ties to Team Takeover, as both head coach Adrian Autry and new assistant coach Brenden Straughn previously were coaches for this top-flight AAU program.

Recently, Autry traveled to our nation’s capital to meet with Freeman, who also took an official visit to the Hill not too long ago. Syracuse basketball coaches have pursued Freeman for a while now, offering him a scholarship back in August of 2021.

This past weekend, college coaches could watch recruits in person amid a live period on the AAU circuit. Per multiple media reports, Autry watched Freeman last weekend as the EYBL held a session at the LakePoint Champions Center in Emerson, Ga.

According to statistics on theseasonticket.com, during this EYBL slate of games, Freeman averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest, earning All-defensive honors.

Throughout his recruiting process, Freeman has picked up more than 15 offers from a range of high-major teams. He has taken junior-year official visits to the Orange, Alabama, Texas and Iowa.

When I penned this column, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite had Freeman at No. 27 overall, No. 4 at power forward and No. 1 in D.C. within the 2024 class.

To date, Syracuse basketball has one verbal commitment in the junior cycle, from four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore out of New York City. If the Orange were to secure a commitment from Freeman, that would prove another terrific pick-up for the ‘Cuse in this class.