One of the premier AAU tournaments of the year is over, and it was a big one for Syracuse commit Donnie Freeman. His Team Takeover won the 2023 EYBL Peach Jam with a 76-61 victory over Vegas Elite yesterday.
Freeman didn’t start the title game, but was red hot in the second half, scoring 11 points with four rebounds. He went just ⅓ from the field in the first half. Overall, Freeman led the DMV based Team Takeover with about 13 points and 5 rebounds per game in eight Peach Jam games. Team Takeover went undefeated during the tournament.
Freeman, listed at 6’9 190 pounds, is Syracuse’s highest rated recruit in the class of 2024. 247Sports’ composite rankings have him as the 39th best player in the class and 7th best power forward.
He makes up one half of a potential future duo that Syracuse fans should be excited against. Elijah Moore is the other current member of SU’s 2024 class. The shooting guard is ranked as the 97th best player in the country by 247’s composite ranking and the 18th best at his position.
Together, Freeman and Moore make up a formidable prospect duo. So much so that, even without another commit in the class yet, 247 ranks Syracuse 10th among all teams as things stand in the 2024 cycle. That’s after landing a single recruit in 2023, and William Patterson wasn’t even a rated prospect until Syracuse started looking at him.
Adrian Autry has to get a ton of credit. While Moore committed to Syracuse while Jim Boeheim was still in charge, Autry was Moore’s lead recruiter and managed to hold his commitment after taking over as head coach. Freeman was a major target for Autry, who has been a specialist at recruiting the DMV, convincing Benny Williams and Judah Mintz to come to Syracuse over the last couple of years.
The addition of Brenden Straughn, who used to coach Team Takeover, only bolstered those DMV connections. Freeman covers that area, which has become Syracuse’s new pipeline for talent. Moore, meanwhile, covers New York City, SU’s historic hot bed. Geography matters in recruiting, and, so far, Adrian Autry seems to have two important areas covered.
