It sometimes takes a freshman a while to get accustomed to many different aspects of college basketball. Once the star and likely only star of their high school team, he must get used to the fact that he is now surrounded by players who are equal to or even better than he is.
For Auburn’s Elyjah Freeman, the maturity process took no time, and a gesture made by the 6-foot-8 guard/forward helped the No. 21 Tigers pull away from UT-Chattanooga on Saturday.
Freeman had been in the starting lineup for Steven Pearl’s squad recently, but early last week, the freshman walked into his head coach’s office and told him that Sebastian Williams-Adams should get the start against the Mocs, and he would happily come off the bench. So, following his advice, Pearl went with Williams-Adams.
While Williams-Adams was productive in that role, scoring 8 points with five rebounds in 33 minutes on the court, it was Freeman who provided a spark off the bench, scoring 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds in the win. Afterward, Freeman’s coach had nothing but praise for what his freshman did.
“Just shows unbelievable growth and maturity from a young man like that, and it’s great seeing him play better offensively,” Pearl said. “Had a couple silly turnovers, but still. Nineteen points, seven rebounds off the bench.”
Freeman shines coming off bench
Even coming off the bench, Freeman still saw 33 minutes of playing time, ending 7-of-13 from the floor while hitting two three-pointers in six attempts. Pearl liked what he saw from the Palm Beach, Fla., native on the floor.
“I’m glad he shot six threes tonight, honestly,” Pearl said. “He needs to be more aggressive shooting the ball when he’s open, and I thought he did that tonight. Made his free throws and got three offensive rebounds. So, productive stat line, but he’s capable of doing a lot. So I have high expectations for him.”