Matthew Jon Freeman (born 9 December 1997) is a New Zealand professional basketball player who last played for SCM U Craiova of the Liga Națională. He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners and UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
 Freeman with Karlsruhe in December 2021 | |
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 9 December 1997 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Listed height | 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) |
| Listed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Westlake Boys (Auckland, New Zealand) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2021 | Gladiators Trier |
| 2021–2022 | PS Karlsruhe Lions |
| 2022–2023 | Eisbären Bremerhaven |
| 2023 | Franklin Bulls |
| 2023–2024 | SCM U Craiova |
Early life
editFreeman was born in Auckland, New Zealand.[1] He attended Westlake Boys High School.[1]
College career
editIn January 2016, Freeman enrolled at the University of Oklahoma.[1] He played three seasons for the Sooners between 2016 and 2019.[1]
In April 2019, Freeman transferred to UC Santa Barbara.[2]
As a senior with the Gauchos in 2019–20, Freeman averaged 9.4 points per game.[3]
Professional career
editIn December 2020, Freeman moved to Germany to begin his professional career with Gladiators Trier of the ProA.[4] In 14 games in 2020–21, he averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.[5] He was set to play for the Franklin Bulls in the 2021 New Zealand NBL season,[6] but he was unable to debut due to injury.[7]
In September 2021, Freeman signed with PS Karlsruhe Lions for the 2021–22 ProA season.[8] In 34 games, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.[5]
For the 2022–23 season, Freeman joined Eisbären Bremerhaven. In 38 games, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.[5]
On 22 May 2023, Freeman signed with the Franklin Bulls for the rest of the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.[7] In 10 games, he averaged 7.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.[9]
On 3 August 2023, Freeman signed with SCM U Craiova of the Romanian Liga Națională.[10] In 29 games, he averaged 11.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.[5]
National team career
editFreeman played for New Zealand at the 2013 FIBA Oceania U16 Championship and the 2014 FIBA Oceania U18 Championship.[11] In 2015, he helped New Zealand win gold at the 2015 FIBA Under-18 3x3 World Championship.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Matt Freeman". soonersports.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Buettner, Joe (19 April 2019). "Matt Freeman to transfer to UC-Santa Barbara". The Norman Transcript. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Matt Freeman". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Sommerliches Intermezzo in Neuseeland. Matt Freeman unterschreibt für kurze Zeit bei seinem Heimatclub". römerstrom-gladiators.de (in German). 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Matt Freeman". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Bulls sign returning Kiwi star!". bullsbasketball.nz. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Bulls excited to welcome Freeman #9 back for 2023!". bullsbasketball.nz. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Wolff, Gerhard (30 September 2021). "Groß und wurfstark: PSK-Lions-Neuzugang Freeman ist nicht nur hungrig auf Erfolg". Badische Neueste Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Matt Freeman (ex Bulls) signs at Craiova". australiabasket.com. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Bun venit, Matt Freeman!". facebook.com/SCMCRAIOVA.RO (in Romanian). 3 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Matthew Jon Freeman". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 22 May 2023.