Freeman to the Portal

Adunk33

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Should be the last one as Mark enters at the 11th Hour. Not a huge surprise with the initial guard-focused recruiting. Only 9 scholarship players signed up for next season. Contrary to his comments in the Pantagraph, I do believe Pedon will get some more guys in.

 
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PurpleRedbird

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Sort of surprised and sort of not. He's been very quiet to date. Wish him the best of luck.
 

AgGrad88

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Hoping Coach adds some more size to the lineup to replace this scholarship. Best of luck to mark.
 

Baltimore Bird

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I fully expected more from Freeman. He dribbled into crowds too often. (So did Reeves).
I hope Strong returns and takes that spot. Pedon wants shooters and Strong is that.
 

CB2K

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Dribbling too much was not all on Mark. It was mostly on the funky bunch of teammates that wouldn’t move to get open. Mark was very quick and skilled at his handles but half the time there was no one in position to pass to. That offensive scheme struggled when Sy went down. They were putting points on the board until that injury sidelined a main piece of the offense. You can’t replace Sy with anyone else so defenses clogged up our main scoring threats in Tone and Jo and they still performed admirably. Mark ended up over dribbling until someone could get open. So, not completely his fault for that. I am not sure if I have seen a quicker guard than Mark in changing directions and being smooth about it except maybe the out of control Illini’s former Andre Curbelo.
 

DWRedbird

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Dribbling too much was not all on Mark. It was mostly on the funky bunch of teammates that wouldn’t move to get open. Mark was very quick and skilled at his handles but half the time there was no one in position to pass to. That offensive scheme struggled when Sy went down. They were putting points on the board until that injury sidelined a main piece of the offense. You can’t replace Sy with anyone else so defenses clogged up our main scoring threats in Tone and Jo and they still performed admirably. Mark ended up over dribbling until someone could get open. So, not completely his fault for that. I am not sure if I have seen a quicker guard than Mark in changing directions and being smooth about it except maybe the out of control Illini’s former Andre Curbelo.

I would argue it wasn't on the teammates either. A lot of struggles were caused by the scheme, or lack there of, on offense. That said, I think Mark would excel in an offense either that thrives on movement and not clogging the lane or that lives in transition.
 

Redbirdfan06

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Dribbling too much was not all on Mark. It was mostly on the funky bunch of teammates that wouldn’t move to get open. Mark was very quick and skilled at his handles but half the time there was no one in position to pass to. That offensive scheme struggled when Sy went down. They were putting points on the board until that injury sidelined a main piece of the offense. You can’t replace Sy with anyone else so defenses clogged up our main scoring threats in Tone and Jo and they still performed admirably. Mark ended up over dribbling until someone could get open. So, not completely his fault for that. I am not sure if I have seen a quicker guard than Mark in changing directions and being smooth about it except maybe the out of control Illini’s former Andre Curbelo. Freeman getting hurt seemed to sap his confidence and decision making when he came back. He over dribbled when Sy was healthy and did the same when Sy was out. He just seemed to lack confidence and decisiveness when he came back from his injury.
Dribbling too much was not all on Mark. It was mostly on the funky bunch of teammates that wouldn’t move to get open. Mark was very quick and skilled at his handles but half the time there was no one in position to pass to. That offensive scheme struggled when Sy went down. They were putting points on the board until that injury sidelined a main piece of the offense. You can’t replace Sy with anyone else so defenses clogged up our main scoring threats in Tone and Jo and they still performed admirably. Mark ended up over dribbling until someone could get open. So, not completely his fault for that. I am not sure if I have seen a quicker guard than Mark in changing directions and being smooth about it except maybe the out of control Illini’s former Andre Curbelo.
Freeman getting injured is where I feel he seemed to struggle when he returned. He over dribbled before Sy’s injury and also after. It just seemed like he lacked confidence and decisiveness after he came back from his injury.
 

Adunk33

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He was the fastest guy on the court most of the time. When you refer to over dribbling, I would suggest at least 60% of that was due to him getting an outlet pass after a defensive rebound and then sprinting up the court, just to look up and find that he teammates weren't there yet. He was passing half court when at least 3 of his teammates hadn't made it past the opposite FT line. He'll find a good home.
 

dpdoughbird06

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He was the fastest guy on the court most of the time. When you refer to over dribbling, I would suggest at least 60% of that was due to him getting an outlet pass after a defensive rebound and then sprinting up the court, just to look up and find that he teammates weren't there yet. He was passing half court when at least 3 of his teammates hadn't made it past the opposite FT line. He'll find a good home.
*If fully healthy.

He reminded me of Kazaa Keene (albeit much quicker) in that the midseason injury seemed to slow him down. But with a run-and-gun team with proper movement and spacing I can see him thriving.

That said, like most sub-6-footers when he’s off he’s hard to hide on the other end.
 

stielowp

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Hiccups are also very quick, but nobody wants those to stay around. His "quickness" was not able to overcome him being an extreme defensive liability in Valley play, and his lack of verticality meant he could never get a shot off (at the end of the shot clock he dribbled out). I wish him well on his next adventure!
 

Adunk33

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Top 4 are Wichita St, Morehead St, Hampton and SFA. Coincidentally, Sy is currently on a visit to Hampton.
 
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