With the addition of a top-40 national prospect this week, the Syracuse basketball 2024 two-member class has moved into the top 10 across the country, according to recruiting services.
A few days ago, 2024 four-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., gave a verbal commitment to the Orange. The 6-foot-9 Freeman picked the ‘Cuse over other finalists Alabama, Iowa, Texas and Georgia Tech.
He joins four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City in the Orange’s 2024 cycle to date. The 6-foot-4 Moore, who verbally committed to Syracuse basketball in late January over other finalists Alabama, Arkansas, Miami and Oklahoma State, is a top-70 overall player in the junior class and also one of the top shooting guards in this cycle.
Now, for some context, 2024 team rankings are going to ebb and flow, as squads pick up more recruits over the next year or so. And for the ‘Cuse to maintain its top-10 rating in 2024, it will have to add more commits in this class.
The Syracuse basketball 2024 cycle is off to a great start.
When I penned this column on Friday evening, here is where the Orange’s 2024 class resided on a national scale:
247Sports Composite
No. 7 nationally
On3 Industry Ranking
No. 6 nationally (and No. 3 in the ACC)
Rivals.com
No. 8 nationally
To reiterate, while the ‘Cuse is in the top 10 at present, if it doesn’t end up with four to five commits in this cycle, it will likely fall out of the top 10 nationwide.
From an Atlantic Coast Conference perspective, at this juncture, North Carolina is No. 1 overall in the 2024 cycle, and Duke is also ahead of Syracuse basketball. Already, the Tar Heels boast a loaded junior class, led by former Orange recruiting targets Ian Jackson, a five-star guard, and Elliot Cadeau, a five-star point guard.
Freeman, a standout for St. John’s College High School in D.C. and the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league, is a top-seven power forward in the 2024 class, as well as the No. 1 prospect in our nation’s capital.
Moore, a star for Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and the Bronx-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas 3SSB league, is rated as a top-20 shooting guard and a top-four player in New York state within the junior cycle, per most recruiting services.
High-school hoops experts project St. John’s and Cardinal Hayes as preseason top-25 teams ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, when both of these Syracuse basketball commits will be seniors. I believe that Freeman and Moore will contend for All-America honors in the upcoming stanza.