The Syracuse basketball two-member 2024 class, while small in size, sure packs a strong punch.
Featuring a five-star power forward and a four-star shooting guard, the Orange's senior recruiting cycle just goes to show you that quality is equally as important as quantity, at least to me.
When I wrote this article, the 'Cuse 2024 class was in the top 35 nationally, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking and Rivals.com.
In one rating, it was inside the top 25, and at another one, the Orange's senior cycle arrived inside the top 20 around the country. That's pretty, pretty good.
As we all know by now, the team's 2024 class includes five-star power forward Donnie Freeman from Washington, D.C., as well as four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore, who hails from New York City. Both are officially signed with the 'Cuse.
The Syracuse basketball 2024 class is highly ranked, despite being small in size.
At the time of this writing, here is where the Orange's senior cycle checked in on a national scale, according to recruiting Web sites:
247Sports Composite - No. 32
On3 Industry Ranking - No. 16 (and No. 4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference)
Rivals.com - No. 24
Both the 6-foot-4 Moore and the 6-foot-9 Freeman are having excellent senior years during the current 2023-24 season.
Moore plays for the Our Saviour Lutheran School in the Bronx, N.Y., which competes in the Atlanta-based professional league Overtime Elite, operating there as JellyFam.
Freeman, meanwhile, is one of the standouts at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., which is part of arguably the nation's top high school conference, the 14-member Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic (“EYBL Scholastic”).
In 2023-24, Moore and Freeman are facing elite-level competition, whether in conference play or at other showcase events.
At last glance, and obviously this is subject to change, but Moore was hovering around a top-10 scorer across the entire Overtime Elite league.
Freeman, within the EYBL Scholastic, has proven a top-10 scorer and a top-five rebounder in that top-flight league to date in 2023-24.
What's more, last spring and summer, in their final stops on the AAU circuit, Moore averaged nearly 20 points per game and shot close to 47 percent from beyond the arc for the 17U squad of the Bronx-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas 3SSB league. For that production, The Circuit named him its offensive MVP in the last 3SSB season.
All Freeman did in grassroots basketball last year was play a huge role in helping lead the Washington-based Team Takeover to the prestigious Peach Jam crown in the 17U division on Nike’s EYBL circuit. Recently, Freeman has been selected to play in the upcoming Allen Iverson Roundball Classic and McDonald’s All-America games.
Lately, Freeman has skyrocketed in the national rankings for his class, while Moore continues to be vastly under-rated, in my humble opinion. In any event, here are the most recent 2024 national rankings for both Syracuse basketball signees:
Donnie Freeman
247Sports: 4 stars and No. 21 overall
247Sports Composite: 5 stars and No. 25 overall
ESPN: 5 stars and No. 19 overall
On3: 5 stars and No. 10 overall
On3 Industry Ranking: 4 stars and No. 20 overall
Rivals.com: 4 stars and No. 51 overall (he will be moving up here, an analyst has said)
Elijah Moore
247Sports: 4 stars and No. 53 overall
247Sports Composite: 4 stars and No. 93 overall
ESPN: 4 stars but not in the top 100
On3: 4 stars and No. 110 overall
On3 Industry Ranking: 4 stars and No. 87 overall
Rivals.com: 4 stars and No. 53 overall