Donnie Freeman transferring to St Johns

[Orangezoo]

The NY Post article is behind their NYPost+ firewall but it came up available on my Google newsfeed on my phone. A few comments by Donnie included -
- He knows Pitino is going to be tough and not cut him any slack. Says he wants that to make him better.
- He wants to play in meaningful games that they win. Before college he'd never been anywhere where he didn't win. Wants to get back to that.

I'll let others interpret how that reflects on his time at Syracuse.

Professional response. He wanted to move on. When he left we had basically just a few players and nothing locked in.

Money played the factor here it’s just every kid is being coached to leave that out of the interviews. The winning part would more be a shot at UK than us.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Sadly he missed over 2 seasons, almost half the games (37/65). Hopefully for St John’s he stays injury free and fully available for Pitino to push hard.

 

[FloridaCuse]

Good read.

Why Mark Pope losing Donnie Freeman represents a much bigger issue for Kentucky Basketball

Donnie Freeman chose Rick Pitino and St. John’s over Kentucky. The missed commitment is not a talent loss, but it exposes a major flaw in Mark Pope’s process.

www.aseaofblue.com

 

[anglerman]

Good for him he certainly will be well coached

 

[CardiacCuse]

He’s such a square peg. Playing him comes with so many compromises.

people just see the highlights and the good plays and the best performances and thats where their analysis stops

the posters on this board waaaaaaay overrate blocks for some strange reason

its the most meaningless stat in basketball imo

and lets not get started on his FT shooting...good lord...the worst ft form i can remember in decades of watching bball

i like him and his attitude on a personal level...i mean...he did it "the right way"...for what he had to work with, he did about as best as he could. but all the people defending him just shows how far this fanbase has fallen in terms of expectations.

he is not the blueprint at all in what you should be looking for on an ongoing basis...like not even close

 

[JaySU22]

It is a bummer Donnie didn’t realize his talent in Orange but will be fascinating to see if Slick Rick gets him there. Either way I am guessing by mid season Donnie will be the subject of one of those famous Pitino postgame pressers where he’s just completely exasperated with his best players and their shortcomings.

 

[baggerbob]

It is a bummer Donnie didn’t realize his talent in Orange but will be fascinating to see if Slick Rick gets him there. Either way I am guessing by mid season Donnie will be the subject of one of those famous Pitino postgame pressers where he’s just completely exasperated with his best players and their shortcomings.

Don't be surprised if by mid season his Father hasn't got him sitting out with another injury.

 

[jdubs30]

Don't be surprised if by mid season his Father hasn't got him sitting out with another injury.

He can’t afford that this year. He’ll be under the spotlight way more with the Johnnie’s and Pitino, a perennial top 25 team. He could afford to miss games here, no one would notice - we stunk and no one watched us

 

[sufandu]

He can’t afford that this year. He’ll be under the spotlight way more with the Johnnie’s and Pitino, a perennial top 25 team. He could afford to miss games here, no one would notice - we stunk and no one watched us

And if he wants to be drafted, this year is probably put up or shut up time. It's one thing to be an underrecruited guy that works his way into the draft after 4 years of developing. It's another to be an initially highly regarded guy that doesn't stay on the court. At some point you're viewed as damaged goods if you don't play.

 

[Sherman20]

I feel like we are in the opposite bizarro land comparable to when Autry started. At that point most of the board was excited because we signed Starling and Westry because of their ranking despite some here real Red flags. The guys we have signed lack HS or HM pedigree, but all have produced at their previous stops.

It wasn’t just Starling and Westry. It was returning Judah, Maliq, Quadir, Benny and others. If only we had kept Jessie Edwards that season. Could’ve been a tournament team with Jessie, though coaching was still an issue. Again, we were behind the 8-ball on NIL.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Geez, some of these takes on Donnie Freeman are just nuts.

This supposedly unmotivated player just, I don't know, casually and with great disinterest put up 16 and 7 as the focal point of every opponent's defensive attention, simultaneously disappointing and proving he can't be coached with any discipline.

Amazing.

His best college basketball is ahead of him, and we won't get to enjoy it happening in a Syracuse uniform.

I'm with you.

13 and 8 and 16 and 7 in his first two years.

The guys who put up comparable, or better, numbers than that, regardless of year, are all-timers in orange.

 

[Ghost]

I'm with you.

13 and 8 and 16 and 7 in his first two years.

The guys who put up comparable, or better, numbers than that, regardless of year, are all-timers in orange.

My guy, Donte Greene!

 

[DoctahLexus]

Geez, some of these takes on Donnie Freeman are just nuts.

This supposedly unmotivated player just, I don't know, casually and with great disinterest put up 16 and 7 as the focal point of every opponent's defensive attention, simultaneously disappointing and proving he can't be coached with any discipline.

Amazing.

His best college basketball is ahead of him, and we won't get to enjoy it happening in a Syracuse uniform.

Made nearly the same post about Judah Mintz 18.8 and 4.4 assist season once upon a time.

 

[Blanko97]

Don't be surprised if by mid season his Father hasn't got him sitting out with another injury.

Idk what you’re claiming but I know Pitino won’t give a second to that nonsense. He’s a real coach, not a players coach

 

[Blanko97]

I'm with you.

13 and 8 and 16 and 7 in his first two years.

The guys who put up comparable, or better, numbers than that, regardless of year, are all-timers in orange.

Those guys weren’t on dogchit teams

 

[Newhouser]

I'm with you.

13 and 8 and 16 and 7 in his first two years.

The guys who put up comparable, or better, numbers than that, regardless of year, are all-timers in orange.

Stats on losing teams aren't always telling the whole story. Lots of empty calorie stats to be had when you aren't winning games.

 

[IthacaMatt]

yeah but he let his players do icky things and we are so much better than that. Who needs success when you can claim that your coaches are swell folks!

Honesty, we're not "so much better than that". There are plenty of icky things the players did when JB was coach, too.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Don't be surprised if by mid season his Father hasn't got him sitting out with another injury.

That would end his hope of an NBA career.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Stats on losing teams aren't always telling the whole story. Lots of empty calorie stats to be had when you aren't winning games.

True but the reverse can also hold true.

Put it this way, I would rather Freeman were in orange next season.

He is a really good player with a lot of upside.

 

[atlanticuse]

I'm with you.

13 and 8 and 16 and 7 in his first two years.

The guys who put up comparable, or better, numbers than that, regardless of year, are all-timers in orange.

On losing teams?

 

[Forza Azzurri]

On losing teams?

Nope. And that is my point. If Freeman had played for winning teams, he would have been on his way to all-timer-type stats and status.

And while it may hold true that a player can pile up garbage stats in blow-out losses for a bad team, a good player on a bad team may also draw more attention because teams don't worry as much about the other players.

So, that argument cuts both ways. It is possible to be a good player on a bad team, as anathema as that seems to be to contributors to this thread.

We'll just have to see what happens next year when Freeman will likely be on a really good team.

 

[atlanticuse]

Nope. And that is my point. If Freeman had played for winning teams, he would have been on his way to all-timer-type stats and status.

And while it may hold true that a player can pile up garbage stats in blow-out losses for a bad team, a good player on a bad team may also draw more attention because teams don't worry as much about the other players.

So, that argument cuts both ways. It is possible to be a good player on a bad team, as anathema as that seems to be to contributors to this thread.

We'll just have to see what happens next year when Freeman will likely be on a really good team.

I can't have the same love for these players who stick around one - or two - years on isht teams, that I have for the 2010, or 2013 or 2016, or whatever teams. Onuaku, Wes Johnson, etc. Hell, I even like Fab Melo a ton more than much of this recent trash - and I put Judah into that pile.
Those guys who came in, got better, made players around them better, and won.

Now it's a money grab - Chef is a great example of how far we've fallen.

I'm so over losing.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I can't have the same love for these players who stick around one - or two - years on isht teams, that I have for the 2010, or 2013 or 2016, or whatever teams. Onuaku, Wes Johnson, etc. Hell, I even like Fab Melo a ton more than much of this recent trash - and I put Judah into that pile.
Those guys who came in, got better, made players around them better, and won.

Now it's a money grab - Chef is a great example of how far we've fallen.

I'm so over losing.

Different point than the one I was making in the post you responded to.

But I do agree with you on this point.

I have very little attachment to most of the players over the last 8-10 years. And it is getting worse with turning over 80-90% of the roster over every year.

That became evident to me when I was reading an article about Alan Griffin and it referenced his having played at Syracuse and I had no idea who he was or when he played for us.

 

[atlanticuse]

Different point than the one I was making in the post you responded to.

But I do agree with you on this point.

I have very little attachment to most of the players over the last 8-10 years. And it is getting worse with turning over 80-90% of the roster over every year.

That became evident to me when I was reading an article about Alan Griffin and it referenced his having played at Syracuse and I had no idea who he was or when he played for us.

So many Griffins.

 

[Blanko97]

Nope. And that is my point. If Freeman had played for winning teams, he would have been on his way to all-timer-type stats and status.

And while it may hold true that a player can pile up garbage stats in blow-out losses for a bad team, a good player on a bad team may also draw more attention because teams don't worry as much about the other players.

So, that argument cuts both ways. It is possible to be a good player on a bad team, as anathema as that seems to be to contributors to this thread.

We'll just have to see what happens next year when Freeman will likely be on a really good team.

Jimmy Bs senior year he had 14 and 6, im not sure anyone thinks he’s an all time great. He piled up stats on a bad team. It’s definitely a real thing even if people key in on them because at the end of the day, there’s still 5 people to guard at all times unless someone is literally useless