Syracuse men’s basketball: Donnie Freeman headlines freshman class looking to provide instant spark

The Orange’s three newcomers bring a lot of skill and potential to the table.

A new Syracuse Orange men’s basketball season begins this weekend, and many fans will certainly be exciting to see the team’s new freshman trio make its debut. Collectively, they could each serve a pivotal role throughout this year.

Consensus five-star recruit Donnie Freeman highlights what is a promising influx of upside, joined also by four-star guard Elijah Moore and late addition Petar Majstorovic. While all of their final outcomes are of course unknown, each of their floors give the three newcomers an opportunity to shore up some of the program’s weaknesses from last season while also tapping into their potential and ultimately raising the ceiling of the 2024-25 Orange.

Freeman brings a lot to table just by himself. Whatever he ends up becoming, it certainly would be vastly different compared to what Syracuse had at power forward by last season’s end.

Freeman’s outside shooting and general potential as a three-level scorer will easily be his calling card on day one. He has a legit chance to serve whatever offensive role coach Adrian Autry puts him into: floor spacer, isolation scorer, movement shooting off screens, etc.

Standing at six-foot-nine and weighing roughly 200 lbs., Freeman’s role could easily be consistent and productive. Outside of just being a valuable archetype as a college player and potential pro, Freeman’s archetype really is unique relative to most players fans have recently seen on the team. He’ll be able to set a solid tone immediately without the requirement of needing to be a super-duper contributor out of the gate.

Syracuse’s guard depth gives Freeman playmakers who can get him the ball either in isolation, off a roll to the basket or in other ways. They can each also get up their own shots, again taking away some of the pressure for Freeman to be the go-to scorer. We haven’t even brought up Freeman’s defensive potential, which will again make him intriguing to watch out of the gate.

Versatility will also be Freeman’s calling card. Jon Rothstein recently noted the potential fit of a frontcourt with Freeman and Colorado transfer Eddie Lampkin. Even playing next to Naheem McLeod, those big-man pairings balance out strengths and weaknesses within that partnership. In a crazy but possible world, fans could even see Freeman play some center himself and unlock some true five-out spacing.

One of the guards who can likewise play next to Freeman and give Syracuse some more offensive punch is Moore. The newcomer guard has a case to be one of the three best three-point shooters on the team.

Like Freeman, Moore shouldn’t have too much pressure out of the gate. Syracuse’s guard depth has plenty of ball handlers and good enough scorers. Moore’s value will mainly come playing off-the-ball, serving as that floor spacer who can also get his own shot up if he needs to in the right situations.

That versatility could see Moore play a small, but impactful, spark-plug role. Assuming Syracuse sticks to the starters Rothstein predicts will begin the year, Moore will still have experienced players of some kind around him at all times. That could also allow him to, similar to Freeman but in a slightly different context, ease Moore into things. It’s a quality situation to be in.

The last incoming freshman is someone who joined the team recently, but could be the do-it-all pure four recent Syracuse fans rally around after seeing Marek Dolezaj contribute to the program.

Majstorovic will likely be in a reserve role, but he again brings a skill set Syracuse lacked last year: a true four who can be more of a bruiser inside, score around the rim, attack the glass for rebounds, hold up defensively and even show some promise as a distributor. Again, he also provides versatility by being that pure four: Majstorovic won’t be relied fully upon immediately, but could easily burst on the scene with that all-around potential. Where he fits in the final rotation is one of the most intriguing narratives heading into this season.

Overall, there’s three reasons to be excited about this freshman class, hence the optimism the trio brings.

First, there’s the general potential each of Freeman, Moore and Majstorovic have in addition to their fits with the rest of that rotation. Speaking of those potential lineups, another element to consider here is these are three players with three different archetypes: a perimeter guard, an old-school forward with plenty of draw and a high-upside combo wing/forward with legit two-way potential.

Most importantly, the ecosystem itself that Autry has built is what likely gives fans the most hope these freshman newcomers can make a big impact. It would be a totally different story if they needed to be relied upon immediately. Instead, a combination of Syracuse’s key rotation players from last year coupled with a handful of experienced transfers puts all three in the right context to tap into their potential.

There will usually be plenty of excitement around a new Syracuse basketball year, and the promise of this incoming trio is a huge part of that.