So far this off-season, the Syracuse basketball staff has done a solid job securing commitments from at least four college transfers in a portal class that was No. 9 nationally via the On3 Web site when I wrote this article.
That being said, if the Orange hopes to have any shot of making the next NCAA Tournament - something it has failed to do for four straight years - the 'Cuse will need strong 2025-26 seasons from its two key returnees, junior guard J.J. Starling and freshman power forward Donnie Freeman.
Freeman, the Washington, D.C., product and consensus five-star player in the 2024 recruiting cycle, got off to a strong start in his freshman campaign this past term. However, a lower right-leg injury limited him to only 14 games during the 2024-25 stanza, when the Orange went a disappointing 14-19 overall.
As it pertains to the team's upcoming campaign, per the headline of an article by Hall of Fame writer Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com, Freeman said: "I’ll be ready."
Highly, highly encouraging.
Donnie Freeman has to shine for Syracuse basketball to contend for a 2026 Big Dance berth.
In 2024-25, according to ESPN statistics, Freeman averaged 25.4 minutes, 13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per encounter while making 50.4 percent from the field, 79.6 percent from the free-throw line and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Prior to his unfortunate injury, Freeman was leading the Orange in boards per game while placing second behind Starling in scoring production. After Freeman got injured and the 2024-25 season carried on, a contingent of 'Cuse fans on social media and in chat rooms opined that Freeman would head for the transfer portal this off-season.
I was not in that camp. And for once, I was right!
All kidding aside, the decisions by Freeman and Starling to run it back in Central New York in 2025-26 were massive for the Orange's prospects in the next term. The 'Cuse has an appealing four-member transfer class, as well as four 2025 signees at the high school level.
To me, though, Freeman and Starling should prove the backbone - the foundation - of the Syracuse basketball squad in 2025-26, and I'm glad to hear that Donnie should be good to go as a sophomore after having his freshman stint cut short. I imagine he will be a regular in the starting line-up again in the upcoming term.
He's an athletic, agile big man who runs the floor well and rebounds with proficiency. His 3-point shooting is credible, and Freeman can score at all three levels. What he must continue to work on is his defense, an area where the entire Orange roster struggled this past season.