Syracuse transfer forward Donnie Freeman commits to St. John's

Rick Pitino just won a massive recruiting battle over his former player.

Syracuse transfer forward Donnie Freeman announced his commitment to St. John’s on Monday evening. The Kentucky coaching staff was among the first schools to reach out to Freeman once he entered the portal, and even got him to visit Lexington last week, but Pitino swooped in late and managed to pick up a big addition for the Red Storm over Mark Pope and the Wildcats.

A 6-foot-9 rising junior, Freeman averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per outing last season for Syracuse while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. On3 ranks him 19th overall and the fifth-best power forward to enter the portal so far this offseason. Alabama, UConn, and Tennessee were also after the talented prospect.

A former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American, Freeman spent the last two seasons with the Orange under head coach Adrian Autry. Freeman averaged 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per contest on 50.4 percent shooting as a true freshman, logging six double-doubles along the way. But both his college seasons have been marred by multiple injuries to the same foot. He’s played just 37 college games — 14 as a freshman, 23 more as a sophomore. Syracuse posted back-to-back losing seasons during Freeman’s tenure, ultimately leading to Autry’s firing earlier this offseason.

Freeman boasts plenty of length and athleticism, making him a scoring threat in the paint and in transition. He regularly gets to the free-throw line, making his freebies at a 76.3 percent clip in ACC play last season. Freeman is a high-level defensive rebounder and has shown the ability to hit shots from deep, knocking down 31.1 percent of his three-pointers (3.3 attempts per game) during his two college seasons.

With Freeman off the board, Pope will now reassess his frontcourt options. Kentucky was also after Colorado forward Sebastian Rancik, but he opted for Florida State on Sunday.

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