Syracuse Basketball: 4-star Donnie Freeman great fit at IMG, analysts say

Syracuse basketball 2024 four-star commit Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., should prove a strong fit at his new high-school home, the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., according to multiple national recruiting analysts and scouts that I spoke with in recent days.

The 6-foot-9 power forward, who verbally committed to Syracuse basketball in May, is transferring to IMG from St. John’s College High School in D.C. for his senior year in the 2023-24 campaign. IMG competes in the country’s top league, the 10-member National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”).

In 2023-24, Donnie Freeman is expected to play some games on national broadcasts against other ‘Cuse four-star and five-star recruits who also compete for NIBC member schools.

A term ago, IMG finished at 18-8 overall, and the Ascenders finished in a tie for third place within the NIBC and also advanced to the semifinals of the eight-team 2023 GEICO Nationals.

Experts say that based on IMG adding Freeman and several other highly rated prospects in recent months, the Ascenders are likely to be a preseason top-10 national squad, a preseason top-four team in the NIBC, and a significant contender to return to the GEICO Nationals come next spring. IMG, by the way, won the GEICO Nationals back in 2019.

Syracuse basketball commit Donnie Freeman is heading to IMG, and experts like the fit for him.

Before I dive a little deeper into Freeman’s fit at IMG and who some of his new teammates are, let’s detail a bit about the various Orange recruiting targets who Donnie Freeman is likely to square off against during NIBC play in 2023-24.

One SU recruit is priority target Kiyan Anthony, a 2025 four-star shooting guard who was offered a scholarship by the ‘Cuse last November. The 6-foot-5 Anthony, who has said he will officially visit the Hill at some point, will spend his junior year at NIBC titan Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y.

Anthony transferred there this past February from Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, N.Y.

The La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., which struggled in NIBC contests in 2022-23, has stacked its roster this off-season, and its lethal backcourt will include two transfers to the Lakers who hold Syracuse basketball offers.

Jerry Easter II, a 2025 five-star point guard, and Darius Adams, a 2025 four-star combo guard, both moved to La Lumiere in recent months and were each offered by the ‘Cuse in the summer of 2022.

A stanza ago, Easter and Adams both picked up sophomore All-America honors from MaxPreps. Easter previously starred for the Emmanuel Christian School in Toledo, Ohio, while Adams was a standout for Manasquan High School in Manasquan, N.J.

‘Cuse commit joins re-tooled IMG roster

Syracuse basketball recruiting fanatics, myself included, will enjoy watching Donnie Freeman play other Orange targets in NIBC games as well as at other showcase events.

What’s more, Freeman isn’t the only highly touted prospect to have switched over to IMG in recent months.

Besides Freeman, 2025 five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. transferred to IMG in early August from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. In early July, 2024 four-star small forward Chase McCarty moved to the Ascenders from the Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, Ala.

In early June, 2024 four-star shooting guard Cole Certa, who is verbally committed to Notre Dame, transferred from Central Catholic High School in Bloomington, Ill., to IMG.

Other players who are expected to be on the Ascenders’ 2023-24 roster include 2024 four-star small forward Amier Ali, 2025 four-star small forward Amari Allen and 2024 four-star power forward Khani Rooths, among others.

Jordan Divens, the national basketball editor at MaxPreps, said to me that Freeman “is a great fit for IMG Academy and adds a much-needed post presence to the Ascenders roster. He will team up with Khani Rooths in an athletic and skilled front court for a team that will begin the season ranked in the top 10 nationally.”

Divens also noted that the “addition of players like Donnie Freeman, Darius Acuff and Chase McCarty bolsters (IMG’s) chances to finish in the top half of the NIBC standings and secure a bid at GEICO Nationals next season.”

Joe Tipton, a stellar national analyst with On3, echoed Divens’ assessment, saying to me, “IMG has such a strong reputation. I think it’ll be beneficial for both sides. He will be playing in the NIBC, going up against some of the top teams in the country so that’ll be excellent in preparing him for Cuse. I’m high on Freeman’s upside.”

IMG will prepare Donnie Freeman for college, beyond

In recent days, I was fortunate to catch up for a few minutes via telephone with Paul Biancardi, who is the recruiting director for ESPN.

Biancardi is extremely familiar with IMG and the NIBC, as he serves as an ESPN television analyst for numerous NIBC games throughout high-school basketball seasons.

Biancardi noted that IMG will provide Freeman with a tremendous base of resources, both athletically and academically. Freeman will have the opportunity to practice, day in and day out, against high-level competition, and he’ll also play against high-level competition in official games, given IMG’s place in the NIBC, with the Ascenders also annually playing top-flight teams in other showcase events.

“It’s a great testing ground” for Freeman in preparing for the collegiate level with Syracuse basketball and beyond, Biancardi says.

Athletically and skill-wise, Freeman fits the profile of IMG players and those around the NIBC.

Freeman, already, had been competing for St. John’s College High School in an ultra-competitive league, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”), so Biancardi doesn’t think Donnie Freeman will have much of a physical adjustment as it pertains to moving to IMG and the NIBC.

In 2022-23, as a junior, Freeman helped lead St. John’s College High School to a 32-4 overall record, a national top-25 ranking, and the WCAC tournament title.

Last year, he received All-America honorable-mention accolades from MaxPreps, while being named to The Washington Post’s All-Met first team and the WCAC All-League first squad.

Clearly, Donnie Freeman was able to shine against top competition in the WCAC, and the same can be said in the latest AAU season.

This spring and summer, Freeman was excellent for the D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. In the EYBL regular season, Team Takeover was one of the best squads in the 17U division.

What’s more, in early July, Freeman picked up honors from analysts and scouts for his play in helping guide Team Takeover to the 17U championship at the prestigious Peach Jam tournament.

IMG, the NIBC are ultra-competitive

Speaking more generally, Biancardi says that when a top-flight prospect transfers to a team in the NIBC, for example, there’s a mental component that players can face. That is, on a high-school team, the game is likely centered on these high-level prospects on both ends of the floor.

However, when transferring to the NIBC, where the competition is so intense, a prospect won’t necessarily have everything focused on just them.

These transfers how to figure out how they fit in at their new squads, Biancardi says, adding that prospects may not receive the same level of shot selection and allocation on their new teams.

To reiterate, Biancardi wasn’t speaking about just Freeman and IMG, but he makes a lot of insightful points here about a highly ranked player going from a high-school group to a NIBC squad.

Experts who I spoke with for this story do think that Donnie Freeman will get extended minutes as a senior at IMG.

The recruiting analyst/scout who runs the Twitter account 24/7 High School Hoops told me that he believes it’s likely that Syracuse basketball pledge Donnie Freeman will start in the front court for IMG in the upcoming season, alongside Rooths.

The Ascenders do lack some size up-front but will be tough to handle due to their athleticism and versatility on the defensive end of the floor, according to 24/7 High School Hoops.

Freeman, per numerous recruiting analysts and scouts, was a big-time get for IMG, as the Ascenders looked to bolster their frontcourt to complement the team’s group of high-quality guards and wings.

I’m excited for what’s to come in 2023-24 for Donnie Freeman, and I look forward to watching some of his games on television, with him and IMG hopefully going toe to toe against other Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star recruits.