Donnie Freeman Helping Syracuse Recruit Elite Talent

Orange basketball commit is looking to team up with other highly regarded prospects.

Mike McAllister | May 19, 2023

Donnie Freeman Helping Syracuse Recruit Elite Talent /

In this story:

Syracuse Orange

Syracuse basketball recently landed one of the top forwards in the 2024 recruiting class in top 40 prospect Donnie Freeman. Freeman is well known in recruiting circles as an elite talent, and, in a recent podcast interview, revealed he is trying to help get other talented players to team up with him with the Orange.

"I'm recruiting two players from my team (Team Takeover) really hard," Freeman said. "I'm recruiting Caleb Williams (2024 forward) really hard. He's probably going to put it out himself, but he's eyeing a visit I think. He's eyeing a visit sometime soon. When he locks that in, I'm assuming he's going to put it out himself, but I'm recruiting Caleb Williams really hard. Big Pat (Patrick Ngongba, 2024 center), I'm recruiting really hard too. I would love to play with both of those guys. On the guard side, Jalil Bethea. He's a guard for Team Final, he lit last session up. Averaged like 23 points. I'm trying to get him as well. That's really how we're looking right now."

Williams is a 6-7 wing from Washington (D.C.) who is rated a four star prospect by ESPN and a three star by 247Sports, On3 and Rivals. However, it would not be surprising if he moves into the top 100 before the rankings are completed.

Ngongba is a four star big on 247Sports, ESPN and On3, but unranked by Rivals. The 6-10, 215 pounder from Virginia has been hot on the recruiting trail lately, picking up offers from Connecticut and Indiana in the last couple of weeks.

Bethea is a four star guard on 247Sports, On3 and Rivals, but unranked by ESPN. He is a top 40 player on On3 and Rivals, but 66th on 247Sports. Bethea has been one of Syracuse's top targets for nearly the entire cycle. Over the last month, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Kansas, Xavier, LSU, Georgia Tech and Connecticut have offered. Bethea has already taken an official visit to Syracuse, is looking to take one to Miami, and could take another to the Orange as well.

SUPPORT ALL SYRACUSE

SUBSCRIBE TO ALLSYRACUSE.COM NOW TO GET ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INSIDER CONTENT

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE ALL SYRACUSE NEWSLETTER TO GET THE LATEST ORANGE UPDATES SENT TO YOUR INBOX

JOIN THE ALL SYRACUSE FORUMS FOR FREE AND DISCUSS THE ORANGE WITH OTHER FANS AND OUR STAFF

Published May 19, 2023

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.