Syracuse Basketball: The Orange's depth chart at power forward in the 2025-26 season

The Syracuse basketball team got a big boost this offseason when Donnie Freeman announced his intention to return to the Orange for his sophomore season. He was one of the team’s most productive players last season despite missing the latter part of the season with an injury.

Freeman is the obvious starter at power forward for the Orange this season. However, it’s worth looking into what the rest of the depth chart looks like at that position.

Starter: Donnie Freeman

There’s no question that Freeman will step back into the starting power forward position this season. Unfortunately, his freshman season was limited to just 14 games because of an injury, making it hard to fulfill his huge potential. Even before the injury, there were some growing pains for Freeman. However, he ended up averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting just over 50% from the field. It’s hard to complain too much about those numbers, even if Freeman didn’t hit the ground running and dominate as expected. Of course, we don’t know how much he was hindered by that injury before he was sidelined. That provides hope that a healthy Freeman will be much improved for his sophomore season.

Backup: Sadiq White Jr.

Syracuse recruited White probably thinking that Freeman would be a one-and-done player. Instead, he will serve as the understudy of Freeman during his freshman season. That will allow White to come off the bench and not face the same level of pressure to produce right away that Freeman did last year. The caveat is that if Freeman has a true breakout season, there may not be enough minutes available for White at his natural position. Fortunately, as discussed in our breakdown of small forwards, there will be opportunities for White to play alongside Freeman at times. However, fans should expect at least one of these two players to be on the court at power forward almost every minute.

Third String: Tyler Betsey

Betsey was a surprising addition to the Syracuse roster out of the portal. He played in virtually every game at Cincinnati as a freshman last season, although Betsey only averaged 3.3 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game. His role and productivity also declined late in the season. Betsey played fewer than 10 minutes in his last eight games of the season, scoring just six total points in those games. Nevertheless, his 247Sports scouting report says Betsey has the size and athleticism to make an impact on both ends of the court. Based on his potential, it was worth going after Betsey in the transfer portal. But it could take some time for him to get there, especially with Freeman and White ahead of him.

Emergency Option: Ibrahim Souare

Odds are, Souare will get most of his minutes this season playing center. As mentioned, Freeman and White should combine for most of the playing time at that spot. However, Souare is another option if head coach Adrian Autry decides to play a taller, more athletic lineup. He’s 6’9’’ with a 7’2’’ wingspan, not to mention experience playing in the ACC from playing his freshman year at Georgia Tech. In that sense, Souare is a good addition to the overall depth and versatility of the Syracuse front court.