Enrique Freeman, a basketball power forward with the Indiana Pacers and their NBA G affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, was born on July 29, 2000. After being selected 50th overall by the Indian Pacers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, he signed a two-way contract. He went to St. Martin de Porres High School before receiving a scholarship at the University of Akron in 2019. He was named for the MAC All-Defensive Team four times from 2021 to 2024, consecutively. In 2022, he became the MAC Tournament MVP and MAC Defensive Player of the Year. The following season, he was named for the first-team All-MAC and was again named in 2024.
Freeman was selected for the 2024 MAC Tournament MVP and the MAC Player of the Year. Further, he was an AP honorable mention All-American and NCAA rebounding leader. Prior to his final season at Akron, he was included in the 20-man watch list for the Karl Malone Award, which honors the nation's finest power forward. In February 2024, he was added to the 10-man pool of finalists for the award. He has participated in 132 games over his five years of college, starting 122 of them, and averaged 14.0 points, 1.3 assists, and 10.6 rebounds.
Who is Enrique Freeman's mother?
Enrique Freeman’s mother is Tania Torres. She is a Cleveland police officer, as per the AP News. Enrique is one of his seven children, the other six siblings being Tatiana, Beautiful, Nicole, Stephen, Nautica and Isis, according to his Akron Zips college profile biography.
Sports Illustrated reports that Freeman responded to a question about who encouraged him to try out for the team. He was talking to the media during his first session with the Pacers before the summer league. "My mom really was the number one who pushed me. She was like 'you didn't try out your first year, you need to go ahead and try out your second year.'" After being gone from the sport for a while, Freeman was intimidated, but he still went for it.
Although the Cleveland native's session in front of Akron coaches wasn't flawless, it went well enough for him to be selected. That season, he only participated in seven games, but his performance continued to improve. In his second season, he made 23 appearances, 20 of which were starts. In March 2024, Freeman had 72 career double-doubles in 131 games going into the NCAA Tournament while playing for the Akron Zips. He is one game away from matching David Robinson, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, for the most double-doubles in a season with 30, in the 2023-24 season. He had scored in double figures in 48 straight games, which is a record for Akron. He has 40 double-doubles in those 48 games.
FAQs on Enrique Freeman
A. Yes, Enrique Freeman has six siblings, one brother, Stephen and five sisters, Tatiana, Beautiful, Isis, Nicole and Nautica.
A. Enrique Freeman was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
A. Enrique Freeman averaged 10.6 rebounds in his five years of college at the University of Akron.
A. Enrique Freeman stands 6 feet 7 inches or 201 cm tall.
A. Enrique Freeman was drafted by the Indian Pacers in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, as the 50th pick.