Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman was projected by some high-profile NBA draft observers as a potential NBA lottery pick when the college basketball season began.

Much like his team, the freshman’s stock appears to have taken a hit early this year.

Freeman was projected No. 38 overall in the latest NBA mock draft by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie published on Thursday, down from a projection of No. 12 overall before the season began.

Vecenie’s most recent offering projects Duke star Cooper Flagg to be the No. 1 choice in next year’s NBA Draft, followed by the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

The mock draft highlighted Duke’s substantial edge in talent on the rest of the ACC, with four players projected to be taken in next year’s draft, including three in the first round.

Flagg and fellow Duke freshman Kon Knueppel (No, 9) and Khaman Maluach (No. 25) were projected as first-round picks, as were North Carolina’s Ian Jackson (No. 29) and Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber. Sorber had 16 points and seven rebounds against the Orange in a Hoya win earlier this year.

The other ACC players projected in the two-round mock draft were Duke’s Tyrese Proctor (No. 42), Pittsburgh’s Jaland Lowe (No. 45), Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud (No. 46), Florida State’s Jamir Watkins (No. 49) and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (No. 52)

Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward, came to Syracuse as the Orange’s highest-ranked recruit since Carmelo Anthony.

He was viewed as immensely talented just like Anthony. Unlike Anthony, he was considered a unrefined prospect.

That’s proven to be a fairly accurate assessment. Freeman has been productive for Syracuse, averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds, while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. He’s had six double-doubles. He leads the Orange in rebounding.

But Freeman’s defense, like many young players, has been shaky, and his production has not translated into very many wins.

Freeman did not play in SU’s most recent game, wearing a walking boot as the Orange beat Georgia Tech. He and Syracuse coach Adrian Autry described his status as day-to-day.

The win over the Yellow Jackets was the first for Syracuse against a major-conference opponent this season.

Vecenie projected Freeman as the No. 12 overall pick before the season began, offering this assessment:

The idea here is a big wing/forward hybrid who already has shown real ability to knock down midrange jumpers and is seeming to add the ability to knock down 3s. On top of that, he’s wiry and has a ton of bounce. He will put up some fun highlights throughout the season. Freeman does have a bit of a way to go, though. The handle is going to have to improve, as is his overall defensive awareness. But if you’re looking for an upside swing in this class, Freeman is one of the names scouts get most excited about before anyone has played this year.

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