Donnie Freeman McD AA Game Thread

[Dinkyspond]

Ugh, him and bell chilling on the perimeter is useless

hope he 's not another Quincy Guerrier, we needed him to mix it up down low but he fancied himself a 3-point shooter to audition for the NBA and not what JB wanted and needed him to do

 

[im4cuse]

Highest +/- of anyone in the game

Jalil -20 woof

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Makes me wonder if Donnie at the 3, Brown at 4, Lampkin at the 5, and Bell 6th man off the bench would have been possible...

I highly doubt Bell would've accepted a demotion.

 

[anglerman]

You're right, there is a non-zero chance that I guess he could be as good as DC.

There is also a non-zero chance that my retirement can be funded by Power Ball.

Apparently you know he’s not that good ?? He looks like an NBA player to me in the video I have seen

 

[OttoinGrotto]

hope he 's not another Quincy Guerrier, we needed him to mix it up down low but he fancied himself a 3-point shooter to audition for the NBA and not what JB wanted and needed him to do

Guerrier was excellent as an interior player for us. He did what he was asked to do while he was here. There was never an issue with that while he wore the Syracuse jersey.

 

[MikeSU02]

Apparently you know he’s not that good ?? He looks like an NBA player to me in the video I have seen

I'm not saying he won't be an NBA player.

I'm saying he won't be DC.

 

[anglerman]

I'm not saying he won't be an NBA player.

I'm saying he won't be DC.

He’s not the same type of player. He truly is a big 3 and that will serve him well in the NBA. DC was definitely a 4 with a decent handle

 

[Orangezoo]

He will not be DC.

But I hope he is more DC than Dontae.

More of a Chris McCullough type of player as a frosh from what I see just a little better.

 

[KevMonstah]

Even if he was to become a new DC, we'd not see it, cuz he wouldn't stick around long enough.

He was fine yesterday, a good shot from deep, grabbed a couple rebounds, defended a bit,
stood around and watched the guards show off. Ok. All you get to expect in that kind of
game really. Reviews of what we didn't see make it sound like he had a good week. Cool. Go
play well in the Chipotle HS Championship tourney. And then eat LOTS please.

At least the "where hype becomes legend" game was competitive, opposite of the NBA ASG.

kev

 

[cuseallday]

I swear I saw him grab 2 boards

Me too.

 

[PhatOrange]

Here's a box score from last night: Donnie with 6 pts, 1 board and 1 steal in just under 13 minutes.

The minute distribution is a joke. Should be more balanced.

Freeman I'm pretty sure had another board.

 

[MikeSU02]

Who cares about his boards and minutes?

The big win is that he didn't get hurt. No one will care about the stupid game if we grab 25 wins and he's ACC freshman of the year.

 

[orangefog]

Harper is a nice player, but he called his own number an awful lot for a PG

 

[zilo]

I highly doubt Bell would've accepted a demotion.

Kind of like Maliq lol. Then the question becomes, is it easier to replace Bell or Maliq? Honestly I think Maliq brings more to the table and Bells shooting is replaceable with a guy that shoots at a high clip but also brings better D and rebounding. Doesn't matter though since Maliq is gone. Can't drive your car by looking in the rear view mirror, gotta look out the windshield to keep going forward. I'm looking forward to seeing who else Red brings in with all the open spots we have.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I am begging everyone, do not do this. He is not DC. He won't be DC. Their freshman years won't be equivalent.

I know that. Totally different games. DC was not a shooter. His game was blocking shots, cleaning the glass, and finishing strong around the rim.

Oh, and a receiver of some very sweet alley-oops from a stud PG

 

[Sbucketball]

Who cares about his boards and minutes?

The big win is that he didn't get hurt. No one will care about the stupid game if we grab 25 wins and he's ACC freshman of the year.

They already gave that award to Cooper Flagg.

 

[Orangezoo]

They already gave that award to Cooper Flagg.

Speaking of - no better example of how useless all star games are than Flagg going for 8/6/3 in 27 mins and not shooting it well as the massively hyped top player in the class… means nothing

 

[cuseallday]

The minute distribution is a joke. Should be more balanced.

Freeman I'm pretty sure had another board.

Yeah, I think he had at least two boards, although whatevs. I was bummed he didn't play more, but he was plus-15, highest on the West roster. Lots of highly ranked guys didn't play much, including Bethea.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Kind of like Maliq lol. Then the question becomes, is it easier to replace Bell or Maliq? Honestly I think Maliq brings more to the table and Bells shooting is replaceable with a guy that shoots at a high clip but also brings better D and rebounding. Doesn't matter though since Maliq is gone. Can't drive your car by looking in the rear view mirror, gotta look out the windshield to keep going forward. I'm looking forward to seeing who else Red brings in with all the open spots we have.

Other posters may disagree, but I think there's still untapped potential in Bell defensively and in transition. He needs to bulk up some, but he's more athletic than many give him credit for. He made some very impressive plays in the second half of the season with chasedown/weakside blocks and exploding to the bucket. I'd like to see more of that next season, and Red needs to continue to prove he can develop players.

 

[JustPherU]

I swear I saw him grab 2 boards

Eddie 2 Boards!

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I hear ya. I could have seen Donnie at the 3 some, given he has a solid 3-point shot and handle, but I doubt Bell would have stayed (assuming he does) if he went from starter to reserve for next season...but that would have been a fun 3-5!

If the choice was Bell or Brown, I would have choose Brown. Almost a no brainer. Bell needs to improve in several key facets of the game.

 

[Cusefan0307]

 

[cuseallday]

If the choice was Bell or Brown, I would have choose Brown. Almost a no brainer. Bell needs to improve in several key facets of the game.

I hear ya. It's well documented his struggles at times on the boards and on defense, although I thought he was a little better this year than as a freshman in both areas. I also hear ya re: Brown versus Bell, but kind of a tough comparison, given they play different positions. I'll always wonder the full extent of Brown's decision to transfer: Donnie coming in, playing the 4 versus the 5, other guys he's close with transferring out, GMac leaving, etc, etc.

 

[MadNY3]

More of a Chris McCullough type of player as a frosh from what I see just a little better.

That's a pretty good comp. Good call.

 

[Bayside44]

From The Athletic:

One of the biggest stock risers this week was Syracuse commit Donnie Freeman. On Day 1 of the practices, it felt like he didn’t miss a shot from behind the arc. Several scouts would look at the roster and make slight comments like “Who is that kid” or “Has he missed yet?” He has a chance to be an elite pick-and-pop guy at the next level with his 6-foot-9 frame. Every year there’s always one guy who comes out of this event and helps himself going into their freshman campaign; this year it was Freeman. He is one to look out for going into the 2024-25 college basketball season.