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March Madness: Creighton recognizes greatness of Akron basketball's Enrique Freeman
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- March Madness: Creighton recognizes greatness of Akron basketball's Enrique Freeman
PITTSBURGH — Akron men's basketball sensation Enrique Freeman walked into the news conference at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday and sat in front of his placard for a 15-minute availability with the press.
Not that the 6-foot-7 forward needed one.
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He's been the talk of the Midwest Region in Pittsburgh since the second he went from former walk-on to honorable mention All-American leading his team into March Madness.
The nation will find out even more about the senior Thursday when third-seeded Creighton (23-9) and 14th-seeded Zips (24-10) square off in an NCAA Tournament first-round game.
Akron's Enrique Freeman, right, enters PPG Paints Arena before an open practice Wednesday before the Zips' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
A day before the game, he was the focal point of many questions heading into Thursday's 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
"If the Lord blessed me with 50 more years to do this, I don't know if it would ever happen again," Akron coach John Groce said. "It's so unique. … The person he is — and you guys don't get to see that — you get to see him play, and I think he gives off that vibe when he plays. If I was watching him play, trying to be as objective as possible, I'd say that looks like a great dude.
Akron's Enrique Freeman, left, warms up during an open practice Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena in preparation for the Zips' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
"It's amazing. His mom's a Cleveland City police officer, great woman. She raised him well (in terms of) his humility, coachability, work capacity. I mean, the story, (it's) unicorn like. I always tell people that he is the unicorn, because of who he is as a person, what he's done as a student, and obviously whatever he's been able to accomplish as a player, which is what all you guys see."
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Creighton heaps praise on Enrique Freeman ahead of NCAA Tournament
Akron's Enrique Freeman (25) stretches under the bright lights of PPG Paints Arena during an open practice Wednesday in preparation for the Zips' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Groce wasn't alone in his praise of Freeman, who has gone from a walk-on tryout to Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year to two-time MAC Tournament MVP to regular-season conference player of the year to All-American.
"He's elite at creating angles," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "And he does so much work before the pass is made that his job is easy once he catches the basketball. So that's going to be a challenge for our defense — it's to make sure we somehow stay between him and the basket, because if he gets you on an angle, it's over. And he's got an incredible second jump, so he gets back to the rim the second time very quickly, which obviously makes him a very effective offensive rebounder.
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"He's really, really talented. And he's shifty enough that he's got a way of really drawing fouls. I don't know who leads the country in free-throw attempts but he's got to be in the top 10 (Freeman is 19th with 228). He shoots a lot of them. But he's very complete with his game, scores over both shoulders. He shoots it well enough from 3 that you have to respect that. Just a terrific player."
Akron's Greg Tribble (2) laughs with teammate Enrique Freeman (25) during an open practice Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena in preparation for the Zips' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Creighton All-American Ryan Kalkbrenner acknowledges Akron All-American Enrique Freeman
Freeman's 18.6 points per game average sticks out, but he leads the nation in rebounding (12.9 per game) and double-doubles (30).
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"We know Freeman is a super, super talented player," honorable mention All-America Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner said. "(Coach Groce) does a really good job of drawing plays up to get him the ball and get the ball in good spots down low.
"You definitely gotta be well prepared and really locked against a player like that. So, yeah, just we'll be watching a lot of film of him tonight to be as ready for him as possible."
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Creighton basketball prepares for challenge of Akron, Enrique Freeman
