Thanks to an incoming freshman, Syracuse Men’s Basketball may be represented in the Olympics for a sixth straight time. Rising five-star freshman Donnie Freeman will suit up for his birth country of The Bahamas in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Valencia, Spain from July 2 to 7.
If the The Bahamas can finish at the top of a six team mini-tournament, the country will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this summer.
While he has spent most of his life, and almost his entire playing career, in the United States, Freeman was born and raised in The Bahamas before moving to Washington, D.C. at age six. Now the power forward will represent his birth country on the senior national team level as they try to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.
One of two athletes committed to Syracuse in the 2024 class, Freeman saw a rapid rise in the 2024 player rankings over the past year. As a five-star, 247 Sports has Freeman as the second-best SU recruit in the website’s time tracking recruits. Now he has an opportunity to play at the international level.
Freeman would be the first Syracuse athlete, regardless of sport, to represent The Bahamas in the Olympics. And his team is not one to be taken lightly. Reported members of the team include NBA players Buddy Hield, Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon and Kai Jones.
While Freeman has competed with some of the best high school talent in the nation, now he will have the chance to learn from some of the top talent at the professional level. And in the qualifying tournament, The Bahamas are guaranteed games against Finland and Poland, laying the ground for matchups with some of the top talent in Europe.
“Getting to play against those high-level players before I get to college will help me out tremendously,’ Freeman told Syracuse.com.
The Orange have been represented in the past five Olympics. Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony played for the United State in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016, with Jim Boeheim serving as an assistant coach in the latter three of those. Michael Gbinije was also in the 2016 tournament, representing Nigeria, and Jerami Grant kept the streak going in 2021 representing the United States.
With a couple of Bahamas upsets, Freeman can bring some Orange flare to Paris.
