Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman returns from injury: ‘I was counting down the days’

Syracuse, NY – After being sidelined for more than a month with a right leg injury, Donnie Freeman returned to the Syracuse lineup on Wednesday.

Freeman’s return coincided with the Orange’s ACC opener against Clemson at the JMA Wireless Dome. He missed nine games, making his last appearance on November 18.

It would take Freeman half a game to find his rhythm, but once he did, the star sophomore nearly led Syracuse to what would be a Hollywood comeback victory.

Freeman was unable to score in the first half of Wednesday’s game, but went on to score 18 points in the second half, rallying Syracuse from a 10-point deficit with the ball and a chance to send the game into overtime in the final seconds.

That’s when Freeman’s triumphant return went off the script.

His game-tying 3-pointer drew an iron and rebounded as Syracuse fell victim to its own foul play in a 64-61 loss to Clemson.

“I shot it with confidence,” Freeman said of his last-second 3-pointer. “If I could do it all over again, I would shoot the exact same shot. In the same way. Same situation. All. Same confidence.”

His final shot of the game was the only shot Freeman missed in the second half. All of his game-high 18 points came after halftime. He made all five of his field goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers, and also hit all six of his free throws before going wide with the eventual game-tying 3.

It was an amazing performance from a player who just started a full contact 5-on-5 game in practice five days ago.

“We know who Donnie Freeman is,” Syracuse guard Naithan George said. “That’s what he does. He can score the ball at a really high level.”

Freeman did not start against Clemson. That was SU coach Adrian Autry’s plan.

But the young power forward ended up logging over 27 minutes against a physical Clemson team. That, Autry said, was not according to plan.

“That wasn’t the plan, but like most players, once they get into it, they want to play,” Autry said. “I thought he really settled in a little bit in the second half (and) helped the team.

Freeman said he was nervous in the days leading up to Wednesday’s game. He was also frustrated. He saw posts on social media suggesting he was slowly making a comeback.

“I was aware of what was going on,” Freeman said. “I just used it as fuel.

Ironically, he said the hardest part about being out was not being able to help his team. On the eve of Wednesday’s match, the anticipation was in full swing.

“I was counting down the days,” Freeman said. “I couldn’t sleep last night.

Freeman entered the game less than four minutes into the first half. Syracuse quickly fell behind, 10-3, and Autry hurried Freeman to the scorer’s table.

Freeman missed all five of his shots in the first half and appeared to force just a few.

“I just told him to continue to be aggressive because that’s what he does,” George said. “It’s a real challenge to guard. So I told him, keep shooting.”

Freeman would do it in the second half, although it took a while. He scored his first basket of the game on an inside move with 11:51 left. He scored all 18 points in the last 12 minutes of the game.

“He made some tough shots,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. I’m sure he was a bit nervous, which is normal, but once he saw one go in, it was different in the second half.”

So different.

Freeman scored six of SU’s eight points in a mini-run that put the Orange up 47-43 midway through the second half.

He drained a 3-pointer with 5 minutes left to cut Clemson’s lead to 54-50. Another 3-pointer kept Syracuse close. His final bucket of the game came on a basket to cut Clemson’s lead to 63-61 with 42 seconds remaining.

“He has the complete package,” Brownell said. He can drive you, he can back you up, he can shoot over you. He draws a couple of fouls, and then obviously when he starts making threes, it’s really hard to watch a guy like that.”

But Freeman’s heroics came up just shy.

Syracuse is now 9-5 on the season and 0-1 in ACC play. The Orange’s next two games are on the road at Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.

Freeman couldn’t save the Orange on Wednesday, but can he save Syracuse’s season?

“He’s going to continue to get better,” Autry said, “and I think the team is going to get better.”

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