Donnie Freeman Reacts to McDonald's All-American Honors & Rankings Bumps, Excited to Join Syracuse

The Orange basketball signee says he is excited to join the Orange this summer.

Syracuse basketball signee Donnie Freeman has had quite the season at IMG Academy. He transferred there for his senior season and has benefited from the added exposure. The 6-10 forward has been given a fifth star by ESPN and On3, and been selected to the prestigious McDonald's All-American game. The latter of which has always been a dream of his.

"I knew the team stuff dropped at three o'clock," Freeman said. "Someone sent me a picture of the roster at like two (the rosters leaked before being officially announced). I was just excited. It was a childhood dream come true. That was something I wanted for a while. You don't (find out ahead of time). Everybody finds out at the same time."

In addition to being selected to that game, Freeman has also seen his recruiting ratings improve. ESPN and On3 have moved him up in their updated 2024 class rankings, giving him a fifth star. On3 has him ranked 10th in the class and as the top power forward.

"I know that's somebody's opinion of me, but it's good to know that they have a high opinion of me," Freeman said. "Ultimately it comes down to trying to stay productive, trying to keep going forward. I know it's not the end but it's kind of good to see the progress. At the end of the day, it's someone's opinion of me. So I'm just going to keep going and go as far as I can."

Freeman credits the increased exposure from playing at IMG for his McDonald's All-American selection as well the improved recruiting rankings.

"I feel like that's 60% of where it came from," Freeman said. "The exposure was the biggest part. Me being able to play against some of the best players in the country and be seen every night. It allows me to showcase what I can do. That would be hard to do without IMG."

Since joining IMG, Freeman can see improvement in a few areas but largely feels it is the exposure that has led to the aforementioned accolades.

"I would say my body and my confidence," Freeman said. "When I got here, I don't feel it's anything I haven't been doing. I just think now it's being noticed. Being showcased more."

Freeman has been signed with Syracuse for a few months. Despite that, communication with the staff has remained consistent and he is looking forward to arriving on campus over the summer.

"I talk to them often," Freeman said. "Maybe once every week or two weeks. But I talk to Brenden (Straughn) regularly. So I'm in the loop with everything that's going on, what they want from me and what they want to see. What they expect from me when I get there in June."

Freeman added he has a great relationship with the entire staff and remains fully locked in to the Orange.

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