College sports landscape underscores Akron Zips' Enrique Freeman appreciation | Ulrich
Akron Zips fans lined up outside Rhodes Arena on a frigid Tuesday evening more than an hour before “Enrique Freeman Night” tipped off.
No. 25 Freeman jerseys were distributed to the first 2,000 in attendance, and the atmosphere became electric during a halftime ceremony unveiling the University of Akron legend's number in the rafters.
A video on the scoreboard showed Freeman highlights and his reaction to the Indiana Pacers drafting him in June. Akron coach John Groce and Freeman gave heartfelt speeches on the court. Another video played with Freeman's former Zips teammates and some fellow UA greats congratulating him.
And the 2024-25 Akron men's basketball team did its part by defeating Northern Illinois 73-63 in front of an announced crowd of 3,472 and thereby extending the nation's longest active winning streak to 14 games as Freeman watched.
It was a powerful display of appreciation for Freeman, whose magnetic personality and relentless motor make him a special person and player.
“The ultimate Akron guy,” said guard Shammah Scott, who scored five of his 15 points in the final minute to help UA (21-5, 13-0 Mid American-Conference) hold off Northern Illinois (5-21, 1-12).
Freeman is adored at Akron. His accolades and character are universally praised by Groce, players, support staff and media members.
But an underrated part of Freeman's incredible story is he stayed at Akron for all five seasons of his college career. It's far from a given in an era dominated by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals.
“With the portal and with NIL and everything increasing, I think for myself, my journey has been just about development,” Freeman, 24, said. “I think at Akron, we have the coaches, the staff, the facility to help develop guys and try to make them the best players that they can [be]. So, for me, I know my biggest reason coming here was obviously the community and also just the development. I knew that this place had the tools to get me to where I wanted to go.”
Big-time programs were ready to offer Freeman to leave Akron before his senior season if he hit the transfer portal. His decision to stay is a huge compliment to Groce as well as a testament to his ability to benefit from NIL money at UA through the Fear the Roo Collective. Close proximity to family and his hometown of Cleveland, a desire to complete a Masters of Business Administration degree at Akron (which he did) and commitments to teammates and girlfriend Anjali Silverheels, who played lacrosse for the Zips, undoubtedly factored into the equation, too.
The point is the planets aligning for a player of Freeman's caliber to go wire to wire as an Akron athlete should not be taken for granted. It would be surprising if it were to play out exactly like this again while life-changing money is increasingly thrown around in college sports and large schools have more resources at their disposal than mid-majors.
A specific set of circumstances and an individual capable of seeing the big picture were required to maintain the status quo at UA. The Zips had a group of seniors stick together last season, when they won the MAC Tournament, lost to Creighton in a Midwest Region first-round game of March Madness and finished 24-11. None of the other Akron players had as much cachet as Freeman, though.
“From a business perspective, he said one of the most smart things to me one time,” Groce said. “ … He goes, 'Why would I even think about [leaving UA]? I've got 10 months. My best chance to get to where I want to go and to win is here. How do I know how they're going to utilize me at the next spot? Am I going to be able to play inside and out? Are they going to do that? Is their terminology the same or am I [going to] have to learn a completely different language in 10 months?' It goes back to how he thinks.”
It wouldn't be the only way in which Freeman is truly one of one. His rise to college basketball stardom is Hollywood script material.
After graduating from St. Martin de Porres, a small Catholic school in Cleveland, Freeman arrived at UA in the summer of 2018 on an academic scholarship. Akron coaches didn't know Freeman until he surfaced at an open tryout during the fall of 2019, his second year of college. During a scrimmage, he famously vomited into a trash can off to the side of the court before immediately rejoining the action. He actually counts throwing up as one of his favorite UA moments. It's too good an anecdote not to embrace.
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Freeman ascended from a walk-on to an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention selection and the MAC Player of the Year last season as a UA senior forward. During the Freeman era, the Zips appeared in the NCAA Tournament twice, including last March.
When the Pacers picked Freeman in the second round (No. 50 overall), he became the first Zips player drafted by an NBA team since 1987. Now he's one of 11 Akron icons with a jersey number in the rafters at the home of the Zips.
While Groce reflected on Freeman's improbable path, the coach became choked up.
“What people don't get to see with him is who he is as a person and what he means to me personally, to our staff, to his teammates,” Groce said. “I think whenever my career's over, whenever that time comes, and God will call those shots, it'll be one of the most fulfilling things that I've went through as a coach, just to see a guy that came in at 180 pounds dripping wet, throwing up in the trash can, nervous, almost didn't try out — I don't know if he shared that story with you, his mother was a big influence on that. Thank God he did, right?
“Just what a blessing to the city, the university, the athletic department, our program, his teammates, other people. This guy, he's one of a kind, man — just his humility. I always say that. For a guy that's that good a player to care as much as he does about other people and the way he treats other people, there isn't a person on our campus that wouldn't tell you they don't love him that he's met.”
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Freeman sandwiched flights to and from Northeast Ohio around a Tuesday practice with the Pacers. Don't ask him how many jerseys he signed, hugs and handshakes he exchanged or selfies he took during his UA homecoming. The numbers were too staggering to possibly track.
In classic Freeman fashion, he expressed gratitude for his teammates during the halftime ceremony and afterward in a question-and-answer session with reporters. He said his jersey number being honored is a reflection of the teams for which he played.
From start to finish, those teams were the Zips.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Enrique Freeman's Akron Zips men's basketball jersey number in rafters
