Syracuse Basketball: 4-star commit Donnie Freeman eyes Peach Jam title

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Syracuse basketball 2024 commit Donnie Freeman and his AAU teammates produced a perfect record, and now they’ll turn their sights toward a summer championship in grassroots basketball.

This weekend, the four-star power forward and top-40 national prospect in the junior cycle put forth some terrific performances as his squad, the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover, went 5-0 during the Nike EYBL fourth and final regular-season session this spring at the Memphis Sports & Events Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Led by the 6-foot-9 Freeman and several other highly rated 2024 prospects, Team Takeover has moved its overall record on the EYBL circuit to 14-3.

Team Takeover, whose stacked 17U roster also includes two Orange recruits, will likely be deemed one of the favorites to cut down the nets at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament, which will take place from July 3 to July 9 in North Augusta, S.C., to determine the winner of this season’s EYBL league.

Syracuse basketball pledge Donnie Freeman had himself a weekend during the fourth EYBL session.

Donnie Freeman, a standout rising senior at St. John’s College High School in D.C., verbally committed to the ‘Cuse over other finalists Alabama, Iowa, Texas and Georgia Tech a few weeks ago.

In a recent podcast interview, Freeman said that he’s trying to help recruit three other 2024 prospects to join him and four-star NYC shooting guard Elijah Moore in this Orange class. They are four-star center Patrick Ngongba II, four-star wing Caleb Williams and four-star guard Jalil Bethea.

The 6-foot-10 Ngongba and the 6-foot-7 Williams were both offered scholarships by the ‘Cuse coaching staff in late April and compete alongside Donnie Freeman for Team Takeover.

The 6-foot-4 Bethea, a long-time recruiting target of Syracuse basketball who officially visited the Hill last fall, is a star for the Philadelphia-based Team Final, which also had an exquisite showing this weekend in Memphis and is rated by The Circuit as the No. 1 AAU squad around the country.

At the fourth EYBL session when Team Takeover sported a perfect record, Donnie Freeman earned some high praise from national analysts and scouts for a couple of impressive performances.

In a Saturday victory over the Chicago-based Meanstreets, Freeman tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and one block in 20 minutes of action. He was 5-of-8 from the field.

As Team Takeover conquered the Wisconsin-based Phenom University on Sunday, Donnie Freeman soared. In 32 minutes, he produced 24 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. He connected 10-of-16 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

In Team Takeover’s final game in Memphis, a win against the Seattle-based NW Rotary Rebels on Monday, Freeman did a little bit of everything in 25 minutes of run. He had 12 points, three rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals, while going 5-of-9 from the field.

"On3 national analyst Joe Tipton was in Memphis this weekend and wrote that “Donnie Freeman is a really intriguing prospect. He’s an athletic, versatile forward at 6-8. Showed off his shooting ability today. Can defend multiple positions. Plays inside or out. Loads of upside here. An eye-opening performance today. Syracuse commit.”"

For the entirety of the EYBL regular season this spring, Freeman is averaging 20.4 minutes, 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest, and he’s making 55.0 percent of his field-goal attempts.