Former Iowa basketball forward Owen Freeman explains reasoning for in-season surgery
Former Iowa basketball forward Owen Freeman explains reasoning for in-season surgery
One of the biggest losses to the NCAA transfer portal that impacted the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team is the recent departure of star forward and local athlete Owen Freeman.
Freeman recently committed to the Creighton Bluejays of the Big East after they swooped in late and lured him out of the transfer portal and to Omaha. While Freeman missed considerable action this year with the Hawkeyes, he was an offensive catalyst that hurts to lose.
The reason for missing games was due to a finger injury that Freeman suffered, which resulted in eventual surgery being required to repair the issue. Freeman recently joined Matt Randazzo on his show "Off The Air" and spoke about his reasoning for the surgery and provided some clarification on why he elected that route.
"I didn't quit. It was something I had to do. I could have permanently damaged my finger. I'm not a guy that's going to put money above everything. I love this game and that's all I do it for. My hand, I had to take care of myself and put myself first. No one knows the true story but yourself. That's about it," Freeman said.
The native of Moline, Illinois, right on the Mississippi River border of Illinois and Iowa, appeared in 53 games over two seasons with the Hawkeyes. He saw a considerable amount of growth in his sophomore year.
This past season, in 19 games, Freeman averaged over 26 minutes per game, shot 63.8% from the field, and averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
The former three-star recruit was ranked as the No. 38 power forward and No. 5 player in Illinois in the class of 2023 per 247Sports. He joins a Creighton team that went 25-11 this year, culminating with an appearance in the Big East Tournament championship game and NCAA Tournament appearance, which saw a win in the first round.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
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