Donnie Freeman inside ESPN’s top 10; Elijah Moore not in top 100

Recruiting service and media outlet ESPN has published its final set of 2024 national rankings for the top-100 prospects in the high school senior class, and one Syracuse basketball commit is highly placed while a second ‘Cuse signee missed the cut.

In these final 2024 ratings from ESPN, Orange five-star commit Donnie Freeman made one of the largest jumps around the country, going from No. 19 overall to No. 6 nationwide. The native of Washington, DC, is also listed as the No. 1 power forward nationally in this class.

Meanwhile, ‘Cuse commit Elijah Moore, a four-star shooting guard from New York City, didn’t make the ESPN top 100, although he does check in as the No. 26 shooting guard in the 2024 cycle, per ESPN.

The 6-foot-5 Moore, though, is ranked in the top 100 of his class by numerous other recruiting services. Both he and the 6-foot-9 Freeman put forth tremendous senior seasons during the recently completed 2023-24 campaign for their respective high school programs.

Freeman was phenomenal as a senior for the powerhouse IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The McDonald’s All-American was named an All-League performer in 2023-24 and has been invited to participate in several All-America games.

Playing in arguably the country’s premier high school hoops conference, the 14-team Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic (“EYBL Scholastic”), Freeman provided one of the top scorers and rebounders during this league’s 2023-24 regular season.

Moore had a special 2023-24 term for the Our Savior Lutheran School in the Bronx, NY, which is part of the Atlanta-based professional league Overtime Elite, operating there as JellyFam. In both the Overtime Elite regular season and its playoffs, Moore was a top-10 scorer; he also scored a massive 67 points last month during Our Savior Lutheran’s senior night.

Here are the 2024 rankings for Freeman and Moore from other recruiting services, at the time that I wrote this column:

Donnie Freeman
247Sports Composite: Five stars, No. 17 overall, No. 4 at PF and No. 4 in Florida
On3 Industry Ranking: Five stars, No. 12 overall, No. 2 at PF and No. 3 in Florida
247Sports: Four stars, No. 23 overall, No. 5 at PF and No. 5 in Florida
On3: Five stars, No. 10 overall, No. 1 at PF and No. 2 in Florida
Rivals.com: Five stars, No. 11 overall, No. 2 at PF

Elijah Moore
247Sports Composite: Four stars, No. 94 overall, No. 17 at SG and No. 4 in New York
On3 Industry Ranking: Four stars, No. 86 overall, No. 20 at SG and No. 4 in New York
247Sports: Four stars, No. 55 overall, No. 9 at SG and No. 4 in New York
On3: Four stars, No. 111 overall, No. 25 at SG and No. 4 in New York
Rivals.com: Four stars, No. 64 overall, No. 19 at SG