Syracuse Basketball: No. 1 PG transfer, D.C. teammate of 5-star commit, one to watch

Malik Mack, a former teammate of Syracuse basketball 2024 five-star commit Donnie Freeman at a nationally ranked high school program in Washington, D.C., has entered the transfer portal, according to multiple media reports.

When I wrote this article on Tuesday, the industry-generated On3 Industry Rankings, in its national transfer ratings, listed Mack as four stars, No. 3 overall and No. 1 at point guard.

Without question, Mack will be highly sought-after in the current transfer-portal cycle. The portal opened on Monday, March 18, and will run for 45 days. I've seen a lot of comments from Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms that speak to the 6-foot-1, 170-pound Mack being a transfer to monitor as it pertains to Syracuse basketball.

Mack, in the 2023-24 stanza, was a freshman at Ivy League member Harvard, and he had a stellar campaign, earning Ivy League rookie of the year honors. This past term, the Crimson finished at 14-13 overall and 5-9 in league play.

Among those who reported on Mack entering the transfer portal was On3 national analyst/scout Jamie Shaw, who noted this development via his X page.

Syracuse basketball fans are intrigued by Harvard point-guard transfer Malik Mack.

Mack, who is from Oxon Hill, Md., appeared in 24 games during the 2023-24 campaign, according to ESPN data. He averaged 33.3 minutes, 17.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per affair, while connecting on 41.0 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Before joining Harvard, Mack suited up at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C. As a senior in the 2022-23 season, Mack and Freeman, a top-flight power forward, helped guide St. John’s to a 32-4 overall record, a top-25 national ranking, and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (“WCAC”) tournament title.

In 2022-23, both Mack and Freeman, who was a junior during that stanza, were named to the WCAC All-League first team.

As Mack has shined as a freshman at Harvard, the 6-foot-9 Freeman is starring for the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and he will compete for a high school national championship early next month.

Mack, in the 2023 recruiting cycle, was rated as three stars, the No. 50 point guard and the No. 2 prospect coming out of Washington, D.C., per 247Sports. He held various other scholarship offers while in high school, but I'm not aware of an offer made by Syracuse basketball coaches to him, at least according to recruiting Web sites.

On the AAU circuit, Mack competed for one of the best grassroots programs out there, the Washington-based Team Takeover in Nike’s EYBL league. Last July, Freeman was a key contributor as Team Takeover captured a Peach Jam crown in the 17U division on the EYBL circuit.

Syracuse basketball head coach Adrian Autry and assistant coach Brenden Straughn both previously served as assistants for Team Takeover, and they have deep recruiting ties in the talent-rich D.C. market.

So far this off-season, at least three members of the Orange 2023-24 roster have decided to hit the portal. They are sophomore guards/wings Quadir Copeland and Justin Taylor, along with junior forward Benny Williams, who was dismissed from the 'Cuse program in early February.

Besides Freeman, the Orange's 2024 recruiting class includes four-star shooting guard Elijah Moore from New York City.

We'll have to see if any other 'Cuse players elect to transfer. Syracuse basketball fans are also curious about what sophomore point guard Judah Mintz is going to do ahead of 2024-25. He did test the NBA Draft process after his freshman year on the Hill.