'They represent us': Akron basketball coaches happy with stars Reagan Bass, Enrique Freeman

University of Akron basketball players Reagan Bass and Enrique Freeman continued to pile up the points and rebounds Thursday in a doubleheader at Rhodes Arena.

A double-double is nothing new for Bass and Freeman.

In fact, it has become expected.

And Bass and Freeman delivered once again in victories Thursday.

Freeman compiled his ninth double-double in 11 games this season with 20 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks in 40 minutes as the Akron men earned a 94-90 win in overtime against Gardner-Webb in the nightcap.

Bass posted her sixth double-double in nine games this season with 22 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes as the Akron women recorded a 88-65 win over Bellarmine in the opener. A 6-foot-1 junior from Strongsville, Bass also surpassed 1,000 career points.

Freeman, a 6-foot-7 senior from Cleveland, is approaching 1,400 career points at Akron.

Akron men's coach John Groce lauded Bass and Freeman for being "the faces of the two programs."

Groce said his wife and children love interacting with Freeman, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in the fall of 2022 and is working on an MBA.

"I always tease [Akron Athletic Director] Charles [Guthrie] and President [Gary] Miller, you are not going to have two student-athletes that are the faces of the program that are an engineering student, MBA student, team leaders, great teammates, great people and big-time players," Groce said.

"Think about that. That is so rare. It is unbelievable. ... If you could pick students, leaders, teammates, the way they treat people, how smart they are. You put a microphone in front of both of them, it is like holy cow. If you are the University of Akron, you are saying, 'Wow. They represent us. Wow."

Akron women's coach Ryan Gensler said he loves coaching Bass and also remembers the first time he met Freeman on a tour of the campus.

"The men's basketball team was in the weight room, and as I poked my head in to take a peek and show my wife, Enrique Freeman was the first player to come out and say hello. He introduced himself. He knew exactly who I was and welcomed me to campus and then proceeded to go back into their lift.

"I told coach Groce the first time I met him that that is a special young man, unbeknownst to knowing who he was as a player. When you have that kind of a high character young man in a program, it is no surprise that he is going to be successful on the court and certainly in life.

"I think we are really fortunate to have two generational players in a Reagan Bass that is high character and in a Enrique Freeman that is high character. They are about the right things, and make it so much easier to coach and root for great people like that."

Akron's Enrique Freeman 'is one of the best players in the country'

Freeman has been named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week three times and was one of five Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week for games of the week ending on Dec. 10.

Freeman's 20 rebounds was half of the 40 rebounds Akron (8-3) had against Gardner-Webb (5-9). He is averaging 18.0 points and 13.5 rebounds and shooting 60 percent from the field.

"Freeman is one of the best players in the country," Groce said Sunday after a win over Miami-Hamilton. "He gets a double-double like you and I breath."

Groce then reflected on Freeman on Thursday and added, "you get spoiled" watching him play.

"The only other player I coached like him in my entire career — 30 years, assistant, associate head coach, head coach — was David West," Groce said. "David would get double-doubles every night [at Xavier].

"Freeman is an unbelievable rebounder, unbelievable motor and has phenomenal humility. I have said that a million times. He makes two mistakes, we take him out and he says, 'Coach, that was my fault. I will get that done next time.' His ability to handle the moment is great. Our team's ability to handle the moment is great. You can just tell we have old guys. Nobody panicked."

Akron senior Ali Ali totaled 29 points, four rebounds and two assists. Senior Greg Tribble scored 16 points, senior Sammy Hunter had 10 points and sophomore Nate Johnson contributed nine points and five assists.

"That dude is a great player," Groce said of Ali.

Julien Soumaoro paced Gardner-Webb with 23 points and Quest Aldridge scored 22 points.

"The same way I like to operate in the mid-post is the same way he is a monster around the basket getting rebounds," Ali said of Freeman. "He does that like it is nothing. We definitely tell him we are happy for him — 20 and 20 is not an easy feat. He plays hard every night and he gets rewarded for it. ... He is a smart player. He can see the floor. He can read traps. He is getting trapped all the time."

Akron's Reagan Bass is 'getting recognition at the national level'

Bass has been named the MAC Player of the Week four times this season and played well again as Akron (4-5) topped Bellarmine (4-7).

"Reagan is a workhorse," Akron senior Morgan Haney said. "Credit to her. She doesn't complain and just does what she does night in and night out. To have someone on the team that is a consistent piece is a huge factor for our team. I am fortunate I get to play with Reagan. She is awesome and it is really cool to see her getting recognition at the national level."

Gensler said Bass was the first player he called after Guthrie hired him earlier this year.

"She is a very consistent person in her demeanor," Gensler said. "Her character is exceptionally high. She stands for the right things. She really leans into the things that we value in practice and she plays with a ton of heart. I think the thing about the double-double thing is it is usually off of five or six offensive rebounds, too. It is not just defensive boards, and they are not all of her misses. She was 8 of 10 from the field.

"... She is a very efficient player, has this quiet intensity about her, very workmanlike in that nature. That is who she is. We just got the first semester grades back and she is taking six or seven classes and doing really well in an engineering and business school that is very challenging."

Haney and junior Kaia Woods scored 15 points apiece. Junior Alexus Mobley and senior Alexis Stewart each scored nine points.

"That is a credit to my teammates," Bass said of the double-doubles. "Most of the time, I don't even notice. I am just looking at them and trusting them to give me the ball to do whatever is necessary. The game just flows. You don't notice that necessarily in the moment."

Hayley Harrison paced Bellarmine with 30 points and nine rebounds.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron basketball coaches happy with stars Reagan Bass, Enrique Freeman