Kevin Freeman: The Glue That Holds UConn Together

[Clockshop]

good read on KFree

http://www.sportspagemagazine.com/c...he-glue-that-holds-uconn-together.shtml?58206

 

[EricSD]

Agreed. Excellent read. Clearly he wants to coach going forward - and it seems like he wants to be a HC. I would think if a spot opened up to be an assistant at UCONN instead of Dir. of Basketball Ops, he'd jump at it. Unless another school comes in and scoops him up.

It was great reading about his recruitment and how he ended up at UCONN. I didn't follow recruiting as much back then and did not recall that he was so high on UMASS and the Squid, or that Duke recruited him as well.

 

[RichZ]

I had to stop reading it at...

"Kevin Freeman, the penultimate glue guy throughout his career."

When the writer uses a fancy-ass sounding word that he clearly has no clue as to the meaning of, how can you trust anything he says?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

“We felt like we had an unfair advantage, because we played North Carolina in North Carolina. It was in Greensboro, so the crowd made it feel like they were at home.”

"UConn beat the almighty Blue Devils, 77-74. Freeman had 6 points and 8 rebounds in the shocker, while the do-it-all Hamilton led the Huskies with 27 points. Alas, UConn stood atop the college basketball world."

Copy editing is not what it used to be.

 

[Gurleyman]

I had to stop reading it at...

"Kevin Freeman, the penultimate glue guy throughout his career."

When the writer uses a fancy-ass sounding word that he clearly has no clue as to the meaning of, how can you trust anything he says?

He got it right. He was the second to last glue guy we've had, which was true throughout his career.

 

[imno1]

Not that anybody gives a sh it but I hate the terms glue guy, basketball IQ, and Product (referring to a team).

 

[mauconnfan]

Free was really lucky to be 6'6" on a good day…..his defensive effort vs Madsen was one the best in UConn history and his effort overall despite being undersized was truly amazing. One of my favorites ever……great read!

 

[Deepster]

Refresh my memory.

Weren't there transfer rumors for him in his senior year? Then he stayed here but put himself first trying to (unsuccessfully) develop a jump shot?

Listen. On the '99 team, he has cemented his place in history. I just seem to remember the end being a little selfish. If I am thinking of a glue guy from that team, it's Rash Jones.

 

[progrocks]

you are thinking something that is widely believed, yes. He has no business playing the 3

 

[progrocks]

And wasn't Ricky the all star glue man ever? They over lapped 3 years.

 

[BearJWS]

Refresh my memory.

Weren't there transfer rumors for him in his senior year? Then he stayed here but put himself first trying to (unsuccessfully) develop a jump shot?

Listen. On the '99 team, he has cemented his place in history. I just seem to remember the end being a little selfish. If I am thinking of a glue guy from that team, it's Rash Jones.

Freeman did consider transferring briefly, but made the right decision to stay & has a Championship Ring to show for it. He always played PF for UConn. He was just trying to develop an outside shot for his Senior year, since everyone already knew he could play down low. Nothing wrong with trying to expand his game. He wasn't overly successful of that, but went back to his bread & butter midseason. I don't think he ever put himself first. He was always a team player.

 

[Mots010]

The penultimate Kevin freeman thread.

 

[August_West]

Did you know he and Tim Thomas played on the same High School team?

 

[babysheep]

“We felt like we had an unfair advantage, because we played North Carolina in North Carolina. It was in Greensboro, so the crowd made it feel like they were at home.”

"UConn beat the almighty Blue Devils, 77-74. Freeman had 6 points and 8 rebounds in the shocker, while the do-it-all Hamilton led the Huskies with 27 points. Alas, UConn stood atop the college basketball world."

Copy editing is not what it used to be.

Either this guy doesn't know what "alas" means either, is a Pukie, or is speaking tongue-in-cheek (figuring the last)

 

[Mike Honcho]

I had to stop reading it at...

"Kevin Freeman, the penultimate glue guy throughout his career."

When the writer uses a fancy-ass sounding word that he clearly has no clue as to the meaning of, how can you trust anything he says?

I hope this is tongue in cheek. You have trouble "trusting" the article because he misused a word? What does that even mean? Do you think he's making up KFree quotes? He's a journalism student who scored an insightful interview with a beloved Husky, something I particularly enjoyed, something that none of the hoard could be bothered to do, despite Kevin joining the staff two years ago. I give Mike McCurry credit.

 

[60'sfan]

That 1998/9 team was my favorite of all time. I am sure I am influenced by the fact that it was our first NC but it was an unusual team in that every player knew exactly what their role was. Kevin Freeman had a huge heart and always came up big when you needed him. Aside from the Duke game the Zags were our toughest opponents in the tournament and Freeman was MVP of that game. And I believe that as Khalid put it, "we shocked the world." Very few people would have given us much of a chance against that Duke team. It was arguably the best team in Duke's history with a roster full of McDonald all-Americans and future NBA players. I still remember Ricky Moore leading the team in scoring in the first half because someone had to do it. And I remember one of the announcers saying toward the end of the game that no one on the Duke team could stop Richard Hamilton. I was nervous until the end when El Amin was fouled and went to the line. I knew, and so did he, that he would make both free throws.

 

[boog204]

Refresh my memory.

Weren't there transfer rumors for him in his senior year? Then he stayed here but put himself first trying to (unsuccessfully) develop a jump shot?

Listen. On the '99 team, he has cemented his place in history. I just seem to remember the end being a little selfish. If I am thinking of a glue guy from that team, it's Rash Jones.

After the championship year, he wanted to play the 3 and there were transfer rumors since no one believed JC would let him play it. JC did, Freeman changed his number to 33, and was a complete disaster as a 3. He was afraid to shoot, couldn't handle, and it just did no work out at all.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yes and I believe the transfer rumors were to UMass……..

Can't believe he really wanted to play for Cailmari though?!?!?

 

[Kitaman]

Remember when he was left off the All BE squads? Talk about a chip on his shoulder. He played the BET like an NBA All Star.

Didn't he win the MVP award that tourney?

 

[UconnDon]

Coach Calhoun heartily agrees with both evaluations of Kevin F. and Ricky. I just re-read JC's first book and he certainly holds both in great esteem!

 

[boog204]

And wasn't Ricky the all star glue man ever? They over lapped 3 years.

Ricky was pretty much killed around here his soph and junior years. He was Rickety Moore, originator of the "Ricky Shuffle," and his ineptitude as a point guard necessitated us getting Khalid. Ricky is remembered as a hero for his championship game performance, but he had nowhere hear the popularity then that he has now.

 

[Tenspro2002]

After the championship year, he wanted to play the 3 and there were transfer rumors since no one believed JC would let him play it. JC did, Freeman changed his number to 33, and was a complete disaster as a 3. He was afraid to shoot, couldn't handle, and it just did no work out at all.

Yup. KFree knew his only future in the NBA was as a 3, and JC put Kevin's personal interests ahead of the interests of the team.

 

[Gurleyman]

Ricky was pretty much killed around here his soph and junior years. He was Rickety Moore, originator of the "Ricky Shuffle," and his ineptitude as a point guard necessitated us getting Khalid. Ricky is remembered as a hero for his championship game performance, but he had nowhere hear the popularity then that he has now.

It wasn't just the championship game. The entire season was a defensive clinic - he's remembered mostly for the way he put the clamps on everyone. He had already won us over before the Duke game.

 

[boog204]

It wasn't just the championship game. The entire season was a defensive clinic - he's remembered mostly for the way he put the clamps on everyone. He had already won us over before the Duke game.

You are right. His senior year, at least from a defensive perspective, was legendary. But before that, not so much. Even his junior year was often maligned as he was so hesitant with the ball. He was always a good defensive player (him vs. AI was special), but I don't remember his defense being so obviously superior until his senior year. My only point in bringing this up is that Ricky has gone down as legendary in a lot of UConn fans minds despite how criticized he was. It's similar to what Taliek and to a lesser extent AJ went through and hopefully Omar will earn the same reconciliation of sorts.

 

[Gurleyman]

Yup. KFree knew his only future in the NBA was as a 3, and JC put Kevin's personal interests ahead of the interests of the team.

I don't think that's true at all. We tried starting Wrenn at the 3 a couple times - he wasn't good enough, and kept getting suspended. Had Wrenn panned out and earned minutes, we'd have had Free back at the 4 again. As it was, we had Saunders and Deng to play the 4 and Jake and Souley at the 5 and nobody for the 3. Putting Free at the 3 was the best way to get our best lineup out there.

The biggest problem with that team is that it was the only team in the JC era without a first round NBA Draft pick. We just didn't have enough talent. Jake was the only guy to have an NBA career beyond one season, and he was a marginal pro. KEA needed a wingman.

 

[Gurleyman]

You are right. His senior year, at least from a defensive perspective, was legendary. But before that, not so much. Even his junior year was often maligned as he was so hesitant with the ball. He was always a good defensive player (him vs. AI was special), but I don't remember his defense being so obviously superior until his senior year. My only point in bringing this up is that Ricky has gone down as legendary in a lot of UConn fans minds despite how criticized he was. It's similar to what Taliek and to a lesser extent AJ went through and hopefully Omar will earn the same reconciliation of sorts.

He took a leap. Elijah Allen got a good chunk of his 43 on him, and Shammond Williams had a good day in the Elite Eight. I think JC mentioned in his book that he heard Ricky giving a speech to kids and told them that he blamed himself entirely for the UNC loss and used that as motivation every day.

We were successful his junior year, so he wasn't maligned as much as a sophomore when we struggled to the NIT, but he didn't reach exalted status probably until he killed Cleaves early his senior year - and started doing that every night and we were paying attention. Then the "head of the dragon" and "elephant in your head" quotes started circulating.

 

[RichZ]

...He was always a good defensive player (him vs. AI was special), but I don't remember his defense being so obviously superior until his senior year. My only point in bringing this up is that Ricky has gone down as legendary in a lot of UConn fans minds despite how criticized he was...

The fact that he was criticized doesn't mean he wasn't great. He was criticized for being injured ("Rickety") and he was criticized for not being a drive and dish point guard.

Mostly he was criticized by the same kind of short sighted posters we still see on the yard.

 

[boog204]

The fact that he was criticized doesn't mean he wasn't great. He was criticized for being injured ("Rickety") and he was criticized for not being a drive and dish point guard.

Mostly he was criticized by the same kind of short sighted posters we still see on the yard.

Gotta disagree with you there. We were not a great team with Ricky as the primary PG (96-97). Yes, he had a bunch of kids with him, but that was a piss-poor offensive team with him leading the charge. We were actually at our best when Rip was the primary ballhandler. The Ricky Shuffle was the nickname given to him b/c they had outlawed the 5 second closely guarded rule and Ricky was prone to just dribbling back and forth. His poor play forced us to recruit a point guard (KEA) and there is no way we win it all w/ Ricky as the point. Also, if he wasn't a drive and dish PG, then what exactly was he then? He wasn't a shooter by any means.

 

[60'sfan]

The fact that he was criticized doesn't mean he wasn't great. He was criticized for being injured ("Rickety") and he was criticized for not being a drive and dish point guard.

Mostly he was criticized by the same kind of short sighted posters we still see on the yard.

If my memory is correct, in 1996 in the championship game against Georgetown, Uconn was struggling big time. Ray Allen had missed 14 straight shots and Uconn trailed by 11 late in the game. Ricky Moore brought the team back as Uconn scored 12 in row the last being a shaky short jumper by Ray Allen to give Uconn the lead. It was the famous Allen (Ray) vs. Allen (Iverson) game. Uconn won and Ray got all the accolades but it was Ricky who was the unsung hero.