Damian meets: Tommy Freeman

I met Tommy Freeman the morning after the weekend before and like all good professionals he had reconciled the last two days and moved on.

Two quarters changed the tie on Saturday in Worcester and were the difference between the two sides all weekend. Reflecting on those two quarters Tommy said “Basically their top six guys were shooting over 50%. When a team shoots 52 per cent from three and 56 per cent from the field, it’s hard to beat ’em”.

Lehmon Colbert hadn’t been shooting it as well as he did on Saturday and whilst the Wolves knew Bell would be a threat from outside, Colbert, Jones and Ojo stepped up to the plate in the first leg on campus. Going in to Sunday, Tommy felt that the Wolves were better equipped for back to back games and that they already had a lot more experience of playing double headers than the Raiders this season.

I asked what the game plan is going in to a game with a 28 point deficit and Tommy pointed to the last visit to Plymouth Pavilions as a motivator and template for eating in to that lead. Worcester went in to the second game of October’s Trophy matchup in Plymouth 23 points down. Wolves won the second leg by 11, but they had stolen a march on the Raiders to lead that game by 24 points at one stage in the fourth and so believed they could do that again.

We talked about the two legged format and that led to Tommy recounting how it had taken him a while to get his head around having a Cup, a Trophy and a Championship to play for. He said it also took some explaining to the folks back home and that Sherrad Prezzie-Blue had helped him to comprehend it.

Tommy was understandably excited when his first professional contract came down the line via a fax machine but not so excited that he didn’t take time to really consider what sort of a fit this Worcester team was going to be for his game. His agent knew Paul James and an assistant at Ohio recruited Richie Gordon to Western Carolina University so he was able to talk to others and find out if it felt like the right move.

He remembers his first call from Coach. Happy to get the call about the prospect of playing basketball professionally and really wanting to talk things through, he lost phone signal mid-conversation and couldn’t get back in to range for some time to get Paul James back on the line. When they did get a chance to talk properly, Coach asked Tommy if he could make his own shot. Freeman says he was totally honest in that he hadn’t had to make his own shot in high school or college due to the role he had played (and the weapons his team had) but he was confident that he could. At OU Freeman was asked to stretch the defence, get in to the corner and make the shot – but he also played a lot of ball outside of college against good players where he had gained experience of his potential to make his own shot when closely guarded.

Tommy praised the recruitment and team building of his coach and how he felt that he had brought together a really well balanced roster. He also acknowledged the risk Coach James had taken in bringing in a lot of new players in trying to advance the programme in 2011. Tommy is quick to acknowledge his team mates and coach regularly throughout our conversation, particularly the threat they possess in all areas of the court, the strength of the bench Worcester now have and how easy Paul James makes it to play for him. He is really enjoying playing for James and particularly likes how they have been able to change things up defensively to adapt to playing each opponent.

Looking at Tommy’s own stats he has posted consistent numbers and percentages in line with his final year college figures. Considering he is playing now at pro level that has to be regarded as taking his game on.

“I have never been a really big scorer. Last year at college was the most I had averaged, I shot about 50 two point shots in the season. The first game against Guildford really opened my eyes as 30 was my previous career high and I scored 29 in that game. I shot 23 shots against Plymouth which was the most I had ever shot in a game and it’s a new experience and a new role for me. I’m just one of the guys though I don’t look too much at my own stats I just look to do what I can to help the team win. I do pride myself on being a shooter and my percentages though as that’s my MO and why Coach brought me in”.

In this new role, Freeman has had quarters this season when he has taken the game away from the opposition. I wondered how conscious this was as a team or coaching decision or how much it was just Tommy being on his game. The answer to that question was a little bit of both. Tommy will look at his contribution as the game progresses, how and when he may step things up and he will also on occasion get a pat from Coach James which says “go do it”.

Big games keep on coming for Wolves with Newcastle, Glasgow and Leicester their next three. Freeman said of Newcastle,

“They have a lot of players who can hurt you as we do. They can hurt you with Chapman at the guard spot or Defoe and Thomson inside. We’re gonna have to focus on neutralising a few guys and making their role players beat us like we did at Guildford”.

Moving on to Glasgow he continued, “Green’s been playing out of his mind. I saw again last night he had thirty some and 6 of 7 from three. They had EJ last time we played them but Murray and Cranston have been stepping up and making up for EJ being gone, but it all starts with Green against Glasgow”.

Tommy talked about a rule of thumb they had in college. They always felt that if you could make a team’s main threat take as many shots as they bagged points you gave yourself a chance of winning the contest.

Talking of college, I wanted to get an idea from Tommy about the college game in comparison to his time as a professional in Britain. Tommy has played in high school gyms packed to the rafters with thousands of fans. That level of support for high school teams gives you an idea of the sort of money universities can make out of season ticket sales and gate receipts alone. That money then translates in to those small luxuries such as being able to travel to away games the night before as you have enough funds to put up players in accommodation.

But what came through from Tommy was that feeling of community and how he came from a great community in Ohio. Everybody came out to support the team and he made some really great friends there who follow his progress here in the UK closely. That’s what he’d like to be a part of in Worcester. He has noticed how more and more fans have come out to watch the Wolves as the season has progressed and feels that to a man, the players want to be accessible and to put themselves out there and promote basketball in the community. Freeman has been involved with coaching in schools and has really enjoyed being able to have that involvement with local kids.

Being from Indiana, March Madness is always something that took hold of Tommy growing up. It was always a personal goal for him to play in the NCAA tournament and a goal he achieved in 2010. In doing so, he ruined Barack Obama’s tournament bracket by being part of a Bobcat team that put the number three seeded Georgetown Hoyas to the sword in round one. It was the first visit back to the tournament for the programme in four of five years and their first win in the tournament in around 20 years.

His former university have started this season well under his old coach and have a very young roster which includes the much lauded DJ Cooper. The diminutive point guard is definitely one to watch and a player whose passing game Freeman says is second to none that he has played with or against.

It’s been a great season in the BBL so far and the league is in the ascendancy right now. For that to continue, the BBL needs players like Tommy Freeman, and Freeman hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning for a second season with the Worcester Wolves. Having a coach who knows his strengths and weaknesses and gets the best out of him, and team mates who not only complement his game on the court but are also there for him off the court are all big factors when he comes to weigh up this decision.

Every single one of us that love the sport and the UK game need to do our bit to ensure that these great young players continue to want to play ball in Britain. The more fans through the door as we generate more of an interest in the game here in the UK, the more financial support the clubs will have, and the league will have to develop the professionalism of the competition.

Tommy talks of the British players who have developed to be a good enough standard to play in the BBL. A lot have come from coaching families and have been around basketball all their lives and many have siblings who have pushed them to develop their game. Young players who want to get involved in the game here need other good young players to challenge them and push them all the way to becoming the best they can be. Having players like Tommy Freeman on our shores (Ohio Universities all time record three point shooter) will excite young British kids in to wanting to get involved, enable us to increase the pool of youngsters that want to play the game, and in turn, enable them to drive each other on to better things.