Donnie Freeman transferring to St Johns

[atlanticuse]

our "coaching" has been incapable of extracting maximum - or even passable - results from one-year players/transfers.
Hurley and other coaches have been far superior.
So for JAB and all the other fossils of the sport - skill > effort. But turning skill - or potential skill - into results is coaching.
And ours has been awful the past decade.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I DON'T KNOW THIS SEEMS PRETTY OBVIOUS

 

[phsyra]

I can guarantee you the huskies no longer think of us as rivals. A one-sided rivalry is not a rivalry. Our "rivals" now are only BC and Pitt based on the number of prior games and the fact that we now play them every year and that we all generally field mediocre teams, with exceptions every few years.

not much of a rivalry in football anymore. They destroy us every year.

 

[Sherman20]

The Athletic has Freeman #25 in their portal rankings. Old friend Chance Westry is 38. Some other familiar names: JP Estrella is 24, Acaden Lewis is 27, Markus Burton is 17, Dedan Thomas is 39.

Ranking the 50 best players in the men’s college basketball transfer portal

The transfer portal has never been more important for team building in today's game. Here are the best available players in 2026.

www.nytimes.com

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think a lot of people thought that because they were disappointed that Freeman didn't lead us back to the promised land that other coaches wouldn't evaluate his talent.

 

[phsyra]

westry sucks...freeman will be good

 

[TommyA13]

 

[Briancuse]

UConn is one of the last places I thought would want Donnie

Hurley will get arrested for sure

 

[Dcuse]

Good. One of those teams will be worse than they were.

 

[sufan59]

I say this in an unbiased and in Donnie best interest. Go to UConn and toughen up to a Level 5 lol. It doesn’t really have any risk from a Syracuse standpoint from looking good or bad since Donnie has nothing to do with GMAC.

 

[RF2044]

Cool.

Freeman can be the latest McDonald's All-American to go to Kentucky but fail to get drafted.

 

[Orangezoo]

Good. One of those teams will be worse than they were.

I only wish success for Donnie outside of against us. The reality is he committed to a vision and stuck with Red when he could have bailed. His injury big issue was his biggest challenge as it was clear he couldn’t develop and get stronger like he likely wanted/needed to. Also while he was never an explosive athlete, his foot clearly slows him down and he’s a step slow and has to lean on his length and high release a lot. I expect he can be a multi faceted stretch 4 for one of these teams where they will not force him to fill a role that won’t let him succeed. Not sure he’s going to ever get to the league but he can make a nice chunk of change as a very good college player.

 

[PauliePeppas]

I say this in an unbiased and in Donnie best interest. Go to UConn and toughen up to a Level 5 lol. It doesn’t really have any risk from a Syracuse standpoint from looking good or bad since Donnie has nothing to do with GMAC.

Having the highest recruit since Melo go to your historically biggest rival and get him drafted/final 4 is not a fun thing to think about….anywhere but there please. He will thrive there

 

[sufan59]

Having the highest recruit since Melo go to your historically biggest rival and get him drafted/final 4 is not a fun thing to think about….anywhere but there please. He will thrive there

I don’t like how things went down and wished it worked out with Donnie, but it has nothing to do with Syracuse right now and GMAC leading this program. I said my unbiased take. Of course it’s not going to be fun to watch, especially if things haven’t gotten a lot better at Syracuse and they are able to maximize his talent with adding some toughness to his game.

 

[KyOrangeman]

I live in Lexington, my business partner asked what UK would be getting with Donnie this am. If he developed a post game he could dominate college basketball. But he was pushed off the blocks so easily he settled to become a stretch 4, launching threes and long 2s. Low motor on defense, but could be solid in a good system. Great rebounder, which tells me his defensive deficiency was motor related. Lacked the coaching unfortunately here to succeed, fully expect him to put up great numbers at UK or UCONN next year….

 

[Hopkins16]

I live in Lexington, my business partner asked what UK would be getting with Donnie this am. If he developed a post game he could dominate college basketball. But he was pushed off the blocks so easily he settled to become a stretch 4, launching threes and long 2s. Low motor on defense, but could be solid in a good system. Great rebounder, which tells me his defensive deficiency was motor related. Lacked the coaching unfortunately here to succeed, fully expect him to put up great numbers at UK or UCONN next year….

Freeman is a guy who needs to be coached. Don’t know about Pope, but guys like Hurley and Pitino can bring out the talent that’s in Freeman.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Freeman is a guy who needs to be coached. Don’t know about Pope, but guys like Hurley and Pitino can bring out the talent that’s in Freeman.

The later two will make him a first round pick

 

[tptcuse]

Freeman is a guy who needs to be coached. Don’t know about Pope, but guys like Hurley and Pitino can bring out the talent that’s in Freeman.

Great post. I hope this happens for him.

 

[cuseincincy]

I live in Lexington, my business partner asked what UK would be getting with Donnie this am. If he developed a post game he could dominate college basketball. But he was pushed off the blocks so easily he settled to become a stretch 4, launching threes and long 2s. Low motor on defense, but could be solid in a good system. Great rebounder, which tells me his defensive deficiency was motor related. Lacked the coaching unfortunately here to succeed, fully expect him to put up great numbers at UK or UCONN next year….

I would say that he "settled for being a stretch 4" because he wasn't allowed to be the 3 he thinks he is and he never tried to set up on the blocks. Most times he did get the ball inside he attempted fade aways instead of going strong to the rim. The ability is there. Maybe the right coach can get it out of him. But he can't be the player he thinks he is in his head. He is not a shooting wing.

 

[atlanticuse]

I would say that he "settled for being a stretch 4" because he wasn't allowed to be the 3 he thinks he is and he never tried to set up on the blocks. Most times he did get the ball inside he attempted fade aways instead of going strong to the rim. The ability is there. Maybe the right coach can get it out of him. But he can't be the player he thinks he is in his head. He is not a shooting wing.

And he has toothpicks for legs and no ass. He needs to bulk up down low, or he'll be injured... again.
His persistent limp and gait should worry any new suitor.

 

[SUbear]

Any chance Donnie stays with us? I think hes a real good player

Potentially a real good player, with a coach who knows how to get it out of him, if it can be gotten out of him.

 

[Widget24]

And he has toothpicks for legs and no ass. He needs to bulk up down low, or he'll be injured... again.
His persistent limp and gait should worry any new suitor.

Imagine how unstoppable he would be with a huge ass!

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Imagine how unstoppable he would be with a huge ass!

The Big Dumper. But, for now, he's the Little Dumper.

 

[007]

I would say that he "settled for being a stretch 4" because he wasn't allowed to be the 3 he thinks he is and he never tried to set up on the blocks. Most times he did get the ball inside he attempted fade aways instead of going strong to the rim. The ability is there. Maybe the right coach can get it out of him. But he can't be the player he thinks he is in his head. He is not a shooting wing.

Agreed.

Freeman is skilled, has length, and has been injury prone. Those traits are undeniable no matter the opinion of his motor or willingness to be coached. 17/7 is going to get him paid. He needs to be featured differently than he was used AND he needs to be consistently held responsible for playing in that role. It was a multifaceted issue at SU. Attitude and motor were issues and that he falls to him. But the presupposition that he is a "loser" as a player remains to be seen.

It will be interesting to see how he responds when held accountability, coached hard, and featured differently in an offense.

 

[Orangezoo]

Agreed.

Freeman is skilled, has length, and has been injury prone. Those traits are undeniable no matter the opinion of his motor or willingness to be coached. 17/7 is going to get him paid. He needs to be featured differently than he was used AND he needs to be consistently held responsible for playing in that role. It was a multifaceted issue at SU. Attitude and motor were issues and that he falls to him. But the presupposition that he is a "loser" as a player remains to be seen.

It will be interesting to see how he responds when held accountability, coached hard, and featured differently in an offense.

My worry for Donnie is that his foot injury is an injury that can struggle to ever permanently heal. He continued to be gentle on it after re injuring and it was noticeable some games more than others. Hopefully he can fully heal but it’s slowed his ability to get stronger and I fear history will repeat itself. Hopefully he gets well paid before it flares back up enough to sideline him or continue to slow him down on the court.