St. John’s and Rick Pitino have landed a commitment from Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman.
It appeared Freeman was a lock to choose to Kentucky as recently as yesterday, but things changed rapidly after St. John’s made a bigger monetary offer.
“He wanted a guy that would coach him hard, and wanted someone who had coached pros,” according to Goodman’s source.
What the source meant to say was, “we got a much bigger bag from St. John’s.”
BREAKING: St. John’s has landed Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman, source told @thefieldof68.
The 6-9 sophomore forward averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 boards this past season.
Huge pickup for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm – who beat out Mark Pope and Kentucky for Freeman.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 21, 2026
Source told @thefieldof68 that a huge factor in Donnie Freeman choosing St. John's over Kentucky was Rick Pitino.
"He wanted a guy that would coach him hard, and wanted someone who had coached pros."
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 21, 2026
