The 6-foot-1 guard who asked for and was granted a release from his scholarship at Iowa earlier this month has decided to transfer to Southern Illinois.
Freeman reached that decision following a weekend visit to the Carbondale, Ill., campus, making a verbal commitment to coaches at the Missouri Valley Conference school late Sunday night.
“Basically, it came down to finding someplace where I was wanted and needed and Southern Illinois is that place,’’ Freeman said. “I was in a difficult situation, with just one year left, but they wanted me. They want me to help their younger guys, be a mentor, and I like that idea.’’
Freeman earlier said he felt “unwanted’’ at Iowa following postseason meetings with Hawkeyes coaches.
Iowa coach Todd Lickliter has declined to discuss what was said in private meetings with Freeman.
Under NCAA rules, Freeman will have to sit out the 2008-09 season following his transfer. He will then have one year of eligibility remaining, a situation he said limited his options.
“It’s difficult, asking for schools to make a two-year commitment for one year of competition, but that wasn’t an issue with coach (Chris) Lowery,’’ Freeman said. “He said I could help their program. I feel I can, too.’’
Shortly after Iowa announced on May 2 that Freeman had decided to leave the program, Freeman found himself in contact with Salukis coaches. Southern Illinois assistant Lance Irvin is the brother of Freeman’s former AAU coach, Nick Irvin.
“I know I’m going to be in good hands,’’ Freeman said. “I’ve talked to all of those guys, I know those guys and I’m going to be going into a good situation. I landed on my feet with a program that has been winning a lot of games.’’
Despite missing the season’s first 10 games with a broken foot, Freeman led the Hawkeyes in scoring last season with an average of 13.8 points, 3.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. He was a third-team all-Big Ten selection of the league’s coaches.
Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.
