Syracuse Basketball: 5-star lauded at All-America game, says more SU commits coming

Tuesday night was a thrilling one for Syracuse basketball fans, and that proved much-needed after some not-as-fun recent developments.

On Tuesday evening, Orange 2024 commit Donnie Freeman, a five-star power forward from Washington, D.C., suited up in the prestigious McDonald's All-America game in Houston. He didn't play a ton of minutes, but regardless, he received some high praise from top experts.

Also on Tuesday, the 'Cuse coaching staff picked up a commitment from Colorado senior center Eddie Lampkin Jr., a four-star transfer who provides key depth in the team's front-court ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Those exciting things transpired amid associate head coach Gerry McNamara recently moving on to be the new head coach at Siena. While we're all happy for GMac, losing him is still tough, although I'm confident that head coach Adrian Autry will find another quality assistant for the Orange bench.

Additionally, since the transfer portal opened on Monday, March 18, Syracuse basketball has seen at least five of its players decide to hit the portal, including news earlier this week that sophomore power forward/center Maliq Brown would transfer.

As such, 'Cuse coaches securing a pledge from the 6-foot-11, 265-pound Lampkin is big time. And the 6-foot-9 Freeman, who will vie for a national championship later this week, hinted in a post on X that more Orange commits could be on the way.

Syracuse basketball 2024 five-star signee Donnie Freeman scored high praise at an All-America game.

Freeman, a star senior at the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., will compete in the eight-team Chipotle Nationals beginning on April 4 in Brownsburg, Ind., near Indianapolis. That annual event will crown a national champion in high school hoops.

On Tuesday night at the McDonald's All-America game at the Toyota Center, Freeman logged just under 13 minutes, finishing with six points on two made shots from deep, including one 3-pointer at the buzzer to wrap up the third quarter.

His squad, the West, fell by two points to the East, 88-86, according to box scores that I came across on X. What I found encouraging is that while Freeman didn't receive a ton of run, when he was in the game, his team was plus-15, and that appeared to be the highest of any player on the West roster.

An All-EYBL Scholastic second-team performer in the 2023-24 season, Freeman is part of a stellar two-member 2024 cycle for Syracuse basketball, along with four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore out of New York City.

During the McDonald's All-America game broadcast on ESPN, Paul Biancardi, who is ESPN's recruiting director, said of Freeman, "No one's improved more than Donnie Freeman this year." That's awesome.

Additionally, throughout the week of the McDonald's All-America game and other events, including practices and scrimmages, multiple other national analysts and scouts, including On3's Jamie Shaw, highlighted Freeman's strong performances.

After news broke on Tuesday evening that Lampkin would transfer to the 'Cuse, Freeman, who is a top-10 national prospect in the high school senior class per On3, responded via X, "More coming." And he added in a "lock" emoji.

Yes, please.

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