Bio Blast: Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman

The transfer portal race is heating up. Kentucky has already hosted Washington guard Zoom Diallo for a visit, and plans to do the same with BYU guard Rob Wright III and five-star wing Tyran Stokes starting Monday. The dominoes could start to fall sooner rather than later as Mark Pope builds his 2026-27 roster.

Another name to keep a close eye on is Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman. Kentucky reached out to him once the portal window opened, and the two sides quickly talked over a Zoom call. KSR has not been able to confirm whether a visit to Lexington is on Freeman’s schedule, but UK assistants Mo Williams and Mikhail McLean were reportedly chatting with him on FaceTime on Sunday when the Banner Boys were making the rounds on social media. There is plenty of smoke connecting Freeman’s recruitment to Kentucky.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s learn a little bit more about the 6-foot-9 Freeman, who is considered the 20th-best overall player and fifth-best power forward to enter the portal this offseason, through another edition of KSR’s Bio Blast.

From McDonald’s All-American to Syracuse star

Freeman was a bona fide star out of high school. He started his career at St. John’s (DC), leading his squad to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) tournament championship while making First Team All-WCAC in 2022-23 in the process. Freeman then transferred to IMG Academy (FL) for his senior season. On3 ranked him 6th overall from the 2024 class as he received McDonald’s All-American honors to close out his high school career.

Before making his way to Syracuse, Freeman was a member of the Bahamas National Team that participated in a 2024 Olympics qualifying tournament. He played alongside NBA talents such as Deandre Ayton, Eric Gordon, and Buddy Hield. The Bahamas even made it to the championship round before losing to Spain. Freeman only appeared in one game, but he was coached by McLean, who also serves as an assistant for the Bahamas National Team.

Freeman chose the Orange over a group of finalists that included Texas, Iowa, Alabama, and Georgia Tech. His freshman campaign in 2024-25 got off to a hot start as he started 13 of 14 games for Syracuse early on. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per contest on 50.4 percent shooting, logging six double-doubles along the way. But a foot injury forced him to miss the Orange’s final 19 games of the season.

As a sophomore in 2025-26, Freeman came out of the gate scoring 13 or more points in his first four games. But another (different) injury to the same foot sent him to the bench once again, this time for nine games. He returned for ACC play, averaging 16.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per outing on 46.9 percent shooting across his final 19 games of the season.

During Freeman’s two seasons with the Orange, head coach Adrian Autry led Syracuse to back-to-back losing seasons, posting a combined record of 29-36 (13-25 in the ACC) with no NCAA Tournament berths. Autry was fired at the end of the 2025-26 season, prompting Freeman to enter the transfer portal.

What the advanced stats say about his game

We’ll start with the rebounding. Freeman is a high-level defensive rebounder, grabbing 24.2 percent of opponents’ misses in ACC play last season, a number that ranked in the 95th percentile among all forwards, per CBB Analytics. With plenty of size, length, and athleticism, he’s cleaned up on the defensive glass in both college seasons. On the flip side, Freeman did not attack the offensive glass (which could be more related to Syracuse’s scheme than his unwillingness to battle for offensive boards). His offensive rebounding percentage of 3.9 graded out in the 12th percentile last season.

Freeman posted a high usage rate (27.3 percent, 95th percentile) for his position. He’s not necessarily a playmaking big man (82 career turnovers to only 52 assists), but one who can score in the paint and thrive in transition. He regularly gets himself to the free-throw line, where he hits them at a high clip (76.3 percent last season in ACC play). He should fit better offensively in a system where he’s not asked to lead the team in shot attempts like he was last season at Syracuse.

In terms of his outside shooting, Freeman grades out as average for his position. 33.2 percent of his shots last season came from deep, resulting in a 30.7 percent mark. He’s not a steals/blocks generator, but his defensive impact numbers from last season were favorable despite playing for a losing team. His mobility and length at 6-foot-9 allow him to cover a lot of ground defensively.

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