B.J. Freeman, who had a two-year run as the best player in University of Milwaukee history, continues to progress.
The junior wingman announced on social media Tuesday that he is entering the transfer portal and declaring for the NBA Draft, effectively ending his tenure with the Panthers.
“BJ's ultimate goal is to be a professional basketball player at the highest level, and part of his right as a college basketball player is to hire an agent. They are currently in a position to help him pursue professional basketball. I thought there was,” UWM coach Burt said. Randy. “I think that's his first and most important goal.
“And if he doesn't get the feedback he wants from pro basketball, obviously he's going to be in a position where a lot of college teams that have a lot of money in the NIL get involved. My experience with B.J. The conversation was, if you go, you have to go into the portal and put everything on the board and on the table to get into professional basketball.
“That doesn't mean he's not thinking about coming back here. But at some point NIL money becomes a factor and in Milwaukee we're doing pretty well with NIL money compared to our league (UWM recently launched the Panther Future Foundation — run by Hall of Famer Joah Tucker and established as the official organization for men's basketball.
“But we won't be able to compete with some of the big funds.”
The 6-foot-6 Freeman, a native of Selma, North Carolina, was part of UWM's first recruiting class in Lundy and signed to play for the Panthers after spending a season at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas. tied.
Shortly thereafter, Freeman established himself as a force to be reckoned with, averaging 18.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game before being named to the All-Horizons League Second Team.
His two biggest highlights came towards the end of that season. The first came when he recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Purdue-Fort Wayne, becoming the fifth player in program history to record a triple-double. He scored 43 points in a win over Stetson in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.
This was the second highest scoring record by a Panthers player, behind Von McDade's 50 points in 1990.
Freeman considered entering the transfer portal after last season, but ultimately decided to remain at UWM despite receiving high NIL offers from multiple schools, ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars. .
Freeman missed eight games last season, most due to a back injury, but continued to lead the Panthers with averages of 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
Among his personal highlights were becoming the first player in program history to record a four-game double-double and scoring 20 points in 10 consecutive games, the longest streak in UWM history, tying Von McDade.
Freeman's career average of 19.6 points per game is the highest since Shannon Smith averaged 18.5 points from 1994-1996, and the highest in UWM Division I history for a player who played multiple seasons. It is the best.
McDade leads the league with 29.3 ppg, but only played in 1990-91; Michael Hughes is second with 20.1, but only played in 1993-94).
“Because of B.J., we won 42 games and made it to the semifinals and finals in the Horizon League,” Lundy said. “He has rewritten most of the records here, especially in the scoring department, but also double-doubles and triple-doubles, while also embracing our model as a city team in college basketball.
“He has an affinity for Milwaukee. Our Milwaukee fans love him and he continues to love them. If there was a world where all NIL opportunities were equal, B.J. There's no doubt that I would want to stay here in Milwaukee no matter what.'' Other places, other universities. ”
The loss of Freeman isn't ideal for the Panthers, but considering they add the departed AJ McKee and are expected to return their next four leading scorers, the Panthers are in a position to withstand the blow. There should be.
There's also a chance the Panthers could add another player or two through the portal in the future.
“I think we're in a position where we have a better core of experience and talent than most teams in college basketball sitting here on March 26th,” Lundy said. “Losing B.J. is obviously a blow, but we expect to have a championship-caliber team next season.”
Randy was asked to explain the challenges of building and sustaining a mid-major program in today's era of big-money NIL deals and free transfers.
“There is a market for exchanging NIL money in college basketball, and the high majors, especially those that do well with collective and NIL money, can give players more money than they make at many colleges.” You could work in professional basketball all over the world outside of the NBA and maybe the EuroLeague,” Randy explained. “Here in Milwaukee we do our best with NIL funding, but it's very difficult to compete with major teams that are funding the likes of professional basketball teams.”
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