Nov. 25, 2007

Most freshman athletes are in awe of the large crowds that come to see varsity sporting events at Division I schools.  Tommy Freeman is not one of them.  Coming from basketball-crazed Indiana, he is used to the madness.

"It's a bigger arena, but it's the same crowd pretty much," he says.

Freeman, a 6'5 freshman, hails from Muncie.  His high school, Muncie Central, was the team that lost in the state finals to the real-life Hoosiers.  The 50^th anniversary occurred during his sophomore year, and Freeman got to witness the anniversary game, where both schools brought back all the original players.  Though they lost, he quickly jumps to the defense of his alma mater.

The movie depicts what life is really like in Indiana towns for high school basketball players.  They are treated as small-scale celebrities, and are recognized on the streets of town. 

Freeman says, "There are newspaper articles about you, and the crowds are insane.  Every game is like a war because there is so much talent coming from that state."

Though basketball may be the number one sport in Indiana, Freeman chose to go elsewhere to play college ball.  After being recruited by schools like Northern Colorado and Dartmouth, he chose Ohio because of their recruiting practices and strong academics.

"Just the way the coaches recruited me - I liked it," he explains.  "They were on me before any other schools."

Freeman prepared well for collegiate basketball.  After his freshman year of high school, he gave up running track to compete in AAU tournaments.  The extra practice helped Freeman lead his team to state titles both his sophomore and junior years.  He also put in time in the weight room with the encouragement of his dad, Thomas.

"He's been my biggest supporter and critic," says the younger Freeman.  "He put in all the time with me in the gym, early in the morning and late at night."

That hard work paid off.  He describes playing at the collegiate level as being similar to high school - the same game at a higher level.  In fact, it took a while for him to remember where he was playing.

"At first, I didn't realize I was playing D-I.," he recalls.  "But then at NMSU I hit that three-pointer and I realized where I was."

Like every other Bobcat, Freeman hopes the team can win the MAC this year.  After that is done, he looks forward to showing everyone that Ohio can be a contender in the tournament.  He hopes to do this by bringing good knowledge of the game, as well as defensive energy.  These sentiments are echoed by teammate Kenneth van Kempen.

"He brings lots of energy," says van Kempen, before jokingly adding, "and he talks too much."

The quiet Freeman will undoubtedly make his mark on Ohio basketball and fans will recognize his name.  For right now, they will continue to recognize his home state and associate him with Hoosiers, which he doesn't seem to mind.

"It's a good sports movie and a good tradition."

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Freeman's feature was written by Ashley Bailey, a senior journalism/public relations major at Ohio University from South Dartmouth, Mass.