There's More Than Meets the Eye With Enrique Freeman

We consistently see players exceed expectations and carve out a role by doing the little things in a big way. Enrique Freeman could be that guy in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Every year there’s always a prospect who seemingly comes out of nowhere, rises through the predraft camps, and emerges as a legitimate draft pick. In the 2024 NBA Draft, that player looks to be Enrique Freeman from Akron. Freeman’s predraft journey has been a long one; he’s played at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, the G-League Elite Camp, and finally, the NBA Combine. Along every step of the way, Freeman has been impressive and proven that he belongs. Throughout college, Freeman played center, which he absolutely will not be able to do in the NBA. So, instead of billing him as one, let’s instead take a look at where Freeman thrived, what’s real, what’s relevant, and what will translate to the NBA.

The initial sales pitch for Freeman is a tough one. Fifth-year mid-major centers who are 6’7.25” (without shoes) and don’t really space the floor aren’t typically what NBA teams covet. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to Freeman’s game than just the first line in his bio. When we look at Freeman’s numbers, it’s difficult to not be excited.

This season, Freeman averaged 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks on 58.4/37/72.8 shooting splits. Freeman led the MAC in total rebounds and rebounds per game for the last three years, led the country in rebounds per game, led the MAC in total blocks and blocks per game, and has the highest career Effective Field Goal Percentage in MAC history. According to Synergy, Freeman scored 1.086 points per possession (PPP) (91st percentile) overall, 0.982 PPP posting up (76th percentile), 1.344 PPP as the roller (88th percentile), 1.297 PPP on offensive rebounds (77th percentile), 1.458 PPP cutting (87th percentile), and 1.333 PPP in transition (89th percentile).

Don’t worry, there are more numbers to be overwhelmed by. According to CBB Analytics, Freeman had an offensive rebounding rate of 11.9 (86th percentile), a defensive rebounding rate of 33.1 (100th percentile), a block rate of 6.1 (85th percentile), and a personal foul efficiency (ratio of steals plus blocks to personal fouls) of 0.88x (87th percentile).

There’s a lot of noise there, but nearly any number you look at with Freeman is outlandish. The key is trying to figure out what matters, what doesn’t, and what can translate to the next level. For almost any scout you ask, two of the top traits that they would say consistently translate throughout levels of competition are rebounding and defensive playmaking. For years, Freeman has been one of the most dominant rebounders and disciplined defenders in the country.

The percentile ranks above illustrate how dominant Freeman’s rebounding and shot blocking were this season. However, it’s fair to approach them with a bit of skepticism given his lack of size for an NBA center and his lack of raw explosiveness. The counter to that, though, is that rebounding tends to translate from level to level regardless of position. At a minimum, Freeman should provide tremendous rebounding for his team on both ends of the floor because of his pursuit, physicality, and length.

The rim protection aspect is a little trickier, though. Freeman measured in with just under a +7” wingspan, which is really encouraging. Unfortunately, Freeman’s max vertical of 35” wasn’t groundbreaking. It’s fine, but not ideal given his lack of positional size. All of this is to say that there are very few scenarios where Freeman will be playing center in the NBA. Instead, we need to view him as a toolsy power forward who does the dirty work, play finishes, and can be a reliable weak side rim protector. In that role, Freeman starts to look a lot more intriguing.

Freeman’s ability to consistently rotate from the weak side and present a reliable last line of defense is always a desirable trait in a rotation player. While he doesn’t have the size or explosiveness to be an NBA-level primary rim protector, his timing, discipline, length, and awareness make him an extremely promising secondary rim protector.

Freeman’s defensive acumen isn’t exclusively limited to weak side rim protection either. Freeman has excellent feet (illustrated by his 10.99 lane agility time which ranked 25th at the combine and fourth among power forwards), isn’t afraid of contact, and can switch on a myriad of positions. Freeman does tend to give a bit too big of a cushion at times, but his overall team defense is really promising. Aside from being able to slide his feet to cut off drives, Freeman’s ability to wall up, utilize verticality, avoid fouls, end possessions with rebounds, and get out in transition is a fantastic blend for a rotation defender.

When it comes to Freeman’s rebounding and defense, there aren’t many questions. He likely won’t be a game changer and will struggle with quicker guards, but his ability to do the dirty work, provide some versatility, end possessions, and be a good team defender all without fouling is exactly what teams hope for from a rotation forward. While Freeman’s defense and rebounding feel like they should translate to the NBA, his offense raises a lot more questions.

Like most college centers, especially mid-major ones, the bulk of Freeman’s offensive possessions (48.1%) were post-ups. Freeman found a ton of success on post-ups and consistently displayed great footwork, patience, and composure. His ability to calmly handle double teams, finish through contact, and draw fouls (he drew 7.9 fouls per 40 minutes—99th percentile) made him one of the most efficient post players in the country.

Unfortunately for Freeman, he’ll almost never be asked to post up in the NBA. Elite NBA scoring centers rarely post up anymore, so it’s doubtful that Freeman will. While Freeman’s post moves likely won’t be part of his slate of responsibilities, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that can be translated to other parts of his offense. The footwork, composure, and hands that Freeman consistently showed on his post-ups should also translate to his roll game, offensive rebounding, and cutting.

Freeman is rarely rushed or frantic when in a crowd. His toughness and composure allow him to not only be a dominant rebounder, but also a creative, consistent, and versatile finisher. Aside from his interior play finishing, Freeman’s composure and awareness also make him a really interesting passer. Freeman isn’t a one-dimensional passer, either, as he did a tremendous job of calmly dealing with double teams, making skip passes, finding cutters, passing with both hands, changing release angles, and even kicking out of drives. His passing vision and willingness could help an NBA team’s offensive flow as they’d be adding another facilitator, which is always a good thing. Additionally, when paired with his offensive rebounding prowess, Freeman can consistently create extra possessions and great looks for teammates on broken plays.

Unfortunately, like with most players, the ultimate determination on Freeman’s NBA feasibility is going to be whether or not he can shoot. This season, Freeman’s shooting numbers were encouraging as he shot 37% from three. If he can do that in the NBA, it’ll be more than enough for him to stick. Unfortunately, that number alone is pretty misleading. Throughout his five years at Akron, Freeman has only attempted 60 three-pointers, with 54 of them coming this season. The significant uptick in volume with solid efficiency this season is encouraging, but it is nowhere near enough to form a solid prediction.

Even when we look at other shooting indicators, they don’t give us a great sense of his shooting potential. To help determine his touch we can look at runners/hook shots and free throws, though. On hook shots, Freeman had a high volume over the last two seasons (195 total attempts) and shot 52.1% this season and 56.6% last season. On free throws, though, Freeman shot 72.8% this season, a rough 61.6% the previous season, and just 67% for his college career. Unfortunately, the odds are that Freeman won’t shoot it. Personally, I think he has a promising scoring touch, but whether or not that translates to a jumper I’m not confident about. Freeman shot well during the combine scrimmages and had flashes spotting up and out of the pick-and-pop this season. The optimistic view is that he is a raw ball of clay that a competent shooting coach can form into at least an average shooter. He doesn’t have to set the nets on fire, but if he can at least knock down 35% of his threes off the catch, it should be enough.

So much of what Enrique Freeman does on the court perfectly complements star players. His defensive versatility and discipline allow him to impact a myriad of areas on the court. When it comes to rebounding, there weren’t many as dominant or as consistent as him. While Freeman’s shot is a massive question, his physicality, awareness, rebounding, and passing give him a level of versatility that raises the floor of his team’s offense. Enrique Freeman won’t be a star and likely won’t be a starter in the NBA. However, he is one of the more intriguing two-way complementary forwards who will do the dirty work that leads to winning basketball, raise the floor of a rotation, and make life easier for stars. On paper, taking an older undersized center isn’t what fans want. As we’ve seen, though, Freeman is far more than that. What he provides on both ends of the floor can be implemented in a myriad of ways. He may not be who you want your team to take in the 2024 NBA Draft, but he could be exactly who you need.