Texas Basketball: 3 5-Star recruits the Longhorns can land in December
Donnie Freeman, F
One of the fast risers for the Longhorns 2024 class this fall is the five-star St. John’s (Washington D.C.) 6-foot-8 and 190-pound power forward Donnie Freeman. Texas offered Freeman during the summer and is one of just a handful of schools that he’s visited in the last few months.
Yet, there is a caveat worth mentioning for the Longhorns concerning the recruitment of Freeman.
I don’t know how Texas is prioritizing two of the top power forward targets in the 2024 class at the moment. Both McNeeley and Freeman are top targets on the Longhorns’ radar at this point, but I don’t know if Beard and his staff would want to take both. For that matter, I don’t know if both would want to be committed to the same school given how both could be immediate difference-makers at the collegiate level.
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There is more buzz surrounding the Longhorns in the recruitment of Freeman than McNeeley in the last couple of months, though. A large reason for that was the successful official visit that Freeman took to Austin a couple of months ago (specifically on Oct. 15).
Texas has this momentum building at the right time in this recruitment, given that Freeman recently said he had a decision coming up in December. That’s obviously why he is a prime candidate to be the next five-star recruit to commit to the Longhorns.
Texas did crack the top five for Freeman a few weeks ago in a group that also includes Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland, and LSU.
From what we’ve heard coming out of the Freeman recruitment of late, it sounds like his top three schools are the Iowa Hawkeyes, Maryland Terrapins, and Texas. And considering how Iowa and Texas are the only two schools that Freeman has taken official visits to see since the summer, those two might have the edge with a possible December decision coming up.
Granted, he did take unofficial trips to see Maryland and Rutgers earlier this year.
If I had to pick a favorite right now in the race to land a commitment from Freeman, it would probably be Iowa. It looks like Iowa made a huge impression on him during his official visit to Iowa City back in September. But the margin is pretty slim between Iowa and Texas. And Maryland is definitely still within striking distance.
I think Freeman’s decision will ultimately come down to where he feels like he will fit in the best right away, both in terms of the college town/city he chooses and the fit with the basketball program itself.