Donnie Freeman commits to Syracuse men's basketball

Cuse lands its second 2024 commitment

Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images

Adrian Autry has landed his first high school recruit since becoming head coach — and it was a big one.

Donnie Freeman, a top 40 player in the 2024 class, has verbally committed to the Syracuse Orange. Freeman choose Syracuse over Alabama, Georgia Tech, Iowa and Texas.

The 6-foot-9 forward out of Washington (D.C.), received an offer from Syracuse back in August 2021. In an interview with On3 in February, Freeman said SU was his dream school.

“They have a history of getting players like me, Jerami Grant, Carmelo Anthony to the league,” he told Jamie Shaw. “They recruit the DMV really hard with players like Judah Mintz and Benny Williams on their roster. That was my dream school growing up, so all of that is really attractive.”

“I’m very versatile, athletic, can really do it all on the floor, but I’m still expanding my game,” he continued with On3. “I’m an improved shooter; I’ve really been working on that since the summer. I want to get to be a better ball handler, too, which will separate me from other players in the country like me.”

This was quite the turnaround for Autry and the Orange. Back in November, Freeman left Syracuse off a final list of five schools. Since he was named Syracuse HC, Autry has made Freeman one of his top priorities.

In March, Autry visited Freeman in DC. Getting an official visit on the books was a priority for both sides. A few days later, Freeman set his official visit to Syracuse for April 6-8. On the visit with his family, he was able to bond with future teammates, the coaches, see the facilities, took a tour of campus and became more familiar with the SU program. On April 26th, the entire Syracuse coaching staff met in-person with Freeman in DC, according to a report from Mike McAllister.

However, the Orange stayed persistent and with then-assistant Adrian Autry leading the recruiting efforts of Freeman, Syracuse made its way right back in the mix and had a lot of momentum.

Freeman now joins four-star guard Elijah Moore as the two commits in the 2024 class.