Former Syracuse basketball player Donnie Freeman to miss upcoming season after suffering Achilles injury

With Syracuse and St. John's still looking to finalize a regular season game against each other at Madison Square Garden for the upcoming season, the game will not feature new coach Gerry McNamara and his new look roster facing a former Orange standout.

Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino announced Wednesday on his X account that Freeman suffered an Achilles tendon injury in non-contact during a summer workout, and will not play for SJU in 2026-27 after transferring from the 'Cuse following the dismissal of Adrian Autry and his coaching staff.

The injury bug continues to hit Freeman during his collegiate basketball career

For Freeman, it is the third significant injury the Washington, D.C. native has suffered in college after a standout final scholastic season at IMG Academy in Florida, as he was entering his junior season at St. John's.

As a freshman at SU in 2024-25, Freeman missed the final 19 games of the season after suffering a right foot injury, after getting out to a fast start averaging 13 ppg /8 rpg. Last season, he missed nine early non-conference contests with an injury to the same foot, including key games (and defeats) in the Player's Era Festival against Houston, Kansas and Iowa State, and a win in the Dome over Tennessee.

After leading the Orange in scoring (16.5 ppg) during the disappointing end to the Autry era with a 15-17 season record, Freeman sorted out his transfer options, including discussions with Kentucky and Louisville, before settling on joining Hall of Famer Pitino and a Red Storm program that comes off a 30-7 season and Sweet 16 NCAA run last season.

An all-to-familiar injury to Orange Nation

Freeman's injury was certainly jolting to Syracuse fans, despite the fact that he is now an opponent, both for the tough-luck nature of how it transpired and the fact that he will miss an entire season of competition, and also because it hits close to home.

The news from Pitino immediately brought to mind the memory of the sight of Orange quarterback Steve Angeli, also in a non-contact situation, going down to the turf in the third quarter at Clemson Stadium last September 20 with a torn Achilles before the 'Cuse held on to upset the Tigers 34-21.

Then this past March 30, head coach Fran Brown while attending the Gerry McNamara head coach introduction at the Dome, was informed that his prized five star WR recruit, and basketball walk-on forward, Calvin Russell III, suffered the same injury during that day's practice activities.

While Angeli says he is ready for the season, we will not know more about Russell's timeline to return until later in the summer.

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