From walk-on to MAC Player of the Year, Enrique Freeman's March Madness origin story

As college basketball open walk-on tryouts go, Enrique Freeman's at the University of Akron is taking on near legendary status these days. It's the talk of any TV broadcast featuring the Zips over the last four seasons, especially the last few as Freeman's stature increased.

It's the ultimate origin story.

Expect to hear more about it Thursday afternoon on TNT when Freeman leads the Akron Zips into the NCAA Tournament against Creighton in Pittsburgh.

That's what happens when a guy goes from an unknown walk-on to a conference player of the year and an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention. When a player, who grows 4 inches after high school becomes the nation's leading rebounder. A player good enough to lead his team onto college basketball's biggest stage — March Madness — and good enough "he could play anywhere in America," according to a rival coach.

And it all started back in the fall of 2019 in a relatively empty Rhodes Arena featuring some college kids hoping to just earn a spot at the end of the Akron Zips bench.

Freeman quickly became the guy all eyes were on. The energy fueling his game was obvious. So was his defense and rebounding and athleticism.

Not that the tryout was perfect. A trash can off to the side soon found that out.

"It was early in the morning and I probably wasn't in the best shape at the time," Freeman said this past Monday with a smile, as he thought back. "In the tryout, we just did five v five full-court, just scrimmaging. I just felt a little something come up. I just ran in transition, spit slash threw up to the side and ran back on offense to another possession. Didn't miss a beat. Kind of like my motor now. Just kept playing."

Freeman laughed as he shared this tale that Akron head coach John Groce and his coaches were unaware of.

"I didn't hide it," Freeman said. "I just didn't say anything. Going to that tryout, I wanted to make the team, so I didn't want to show any signs of weakness. Throwing up is not a sign of weakness. That's a sign of me working, exerting myself to that point, but I just kind of let it happen, you know whatever. It's funny now because I can look back on it."

Freeman said he was "just playing hard in the scrimmage."

"I was 19 years old," Freeman said. "I was just young, out of shape and got to get back in shape. That was my first time playing the college pace, like how fast coach wants to play. He pushed us in that workout."

'As we all know now, he is exceptional'

His path to being a two-time Mid-American Conference Tournament champion at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, his hometown, is more than one walk-on tryout story. It includes long hours of practicing on the court and training in the weight room.

Freeman came to Akron in the summer of 2018 as a really good student on an academic scholarship. He was completely unheralded as an athlete.

But his tryout was the turning point putting him on a path to being the 2024 MAC Player of the Year and a two-time MAC Tournament MVP. It was the first time Groce and his assistants had ever seen Freeman.

Freeman made an impression.

"He was 6-foot-7 and had really long arms, and guys like that typically don't show up at walk-on tryouts," Groce said. "The way he moved, just his vibe and his motor, it was obvious watching him that he had some talent.

"We did some digging on where is he from? What year is he in school? Is he eligible? How good is he academically? What type of kid is he? Obviously, as we all know now, he is exceptional."

'This kid is just blocking shots ...'

Freeman graduated from St. Martin de Porres High School in 2018. The small Catholic school located in Cleveland graduates around 70 to 80 students each year. They do not have a homecourt for basketball. He was 6-foot-3 and a good player when he graduated. A year later, he was 6-7 and seeing what he could do in the tryout.

Akron's scholarship players on the 2019-20 team were in and out of the gym, taking turns lifting weights nearby.

"I know a few of them were at the top of the JAR watching," Freeman said. "They saw me get a few blocks and they were hyped. We always do it. When we always have a walk-on tryout, most of the guys are seeing what players can actually get the opportunity to walk on."

Akron senior Ali Ali, a freshman on scholarship in 2019, knew nothing about Freeman at the time.

"I saw him on campus because we lived in the same building, which is crazy," Ali said Sunday. "I think he was the only kid taller than me or just as tall as me at the time. I remember seeing him a little bit in the summer and early in the fall. One day, we were back there lifting. We had two groups and the first group was out here on the court watching the walk-ons, and everybody kept saying 'This kid is just blocking shots and has an incredible motor. He is skinny, but it feels like he is everywhere on the court.'

"That was our first interaction with Rique and they ended up bringing him back for a week or two. This was something he wanted to do and the coaches saw his potential. Ever since, he has taken off. ... He is a great person and we have built an awesome relationship."

Akron seniors Mikal Dawson and Greg Tribble Jr. are amazed with Freeman's development.

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting him to be as good as he is now," Dawson said Sunday. "My first practice with Rique, I remember it. I did a move on him, I thought I had him beat and I thought I had a open layup and he came out of nowhere and just blocked it. I was like 'Alright, he is not a robot.' He knew how to play the game at that time, but he is polished it up until now."

Tribble said earlier this season with a smile that Freeman "doesn't know no other way, but play hard."

"I try to tell him, 'Rique, you gotta chill sometimes, bro," Tribble added. "You just play hard.'"

Enrique Freeman becomes double-double machine

A year after his tryout, Freeman's driven approach had him becoming a regular for the Zips. And the year after that, as a redshirt sophomore in 2021-22, he averaged a double-double and was MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He was first-team All-MAC the past two years, again, averaging double-doubles.

This season, Freeman has an NCAA-best 30 double-doubles, one shy of tying Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson for the most in a single season in Division I men's college basketball. He put himself atop Akron's career rebounding list and is third in all-time in points.

Freeman is averaging 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season in 34 games. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies and Communication in 2022 and is set to get his MBA in May of 2024.

"He excels as a person, student and player," Groce said. "I always talk about giving his mom a lot of credit. She did a great job with him. He is unique. He is special. He balances everything well. He is on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He gets to his girlfriend's games. She plays women's lacrosse here at Akron, and he supports other sports teams on campus. He is everywhere. On top of doing his work academically and excelling in basketball, he connects very well with people."

Groce added that Freeman "manages his time well and will be successful in a lot of areas."

'You knew there was going to be something special about him'

St. Martin de Porres boys basketball coach Ryan Schneider saw those same characteristics in a young Freeman. Tuesday, talking about his former student and player, Schneider described him as an "incredible individual and incredible human being."

"Enrique comes from a good family," Schneider said. "His mom, Tania, got into the police force later in her life."

Freeman has five sisters, Isis, Nicole, Nautica, Beautiful, Tatiana, and one brother, Steven.

Schneider and Freeman regularly keep in touch. Schneider takes his wife, children and basketball team to Akron games to watch Freeman.

"I taught him freshman year theology," Schneider said. "I was coaching at John Carroll [University] at the time his freshman through junior years. I knew him because I had him in freshman theology and we are a small school in Cleveland. His senior year was my first year on board as the head varsity boys basketball coach.

"... Enrique as a freshman, you could tell he hadn't developed yet fully. ... He was always long, big feet, long arms. You could tell he hadn't grown into his body yet. Real quiet kid. Enrique was a hard worker. Enrique was a good kid. You knew there was going to be something special about him. You had no idea, obviously, this was going to be happening."

Freeman was 6-3 as a high school senior and finished with two varsity letters in basketball at St. Martin de Porres.

Freeman, Jaylen Thomas and Robert Gray helped St. Martin de Porres compile a 19-4 overall record and a 8-2 mark in the Lake Effect Conference during his senior season, 2017-18. He averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game as a senior. The Lions defeated Brooklyn in a Division III sectional semifinal and lost to Beachwood in a sectional final.

Schneider said the victory over Brooklyn was "the first time we won an OHSAA tournament game." St. Martin de Porres has been Division II in recent seasons and has not won a tournament game.

Freeman earned first-team All-Lake Effect Conference as a senior and was runner-up for conference player of the year to TJ Chapman of Andrews Osborne Academy. Freeman earned the St. Martin award from the school for "being humble, caring and kind."

Schneider said Geneva College basketball coaches expressed an interest in Freeman, but he chose to go to Akron on an academic scholarship through St. Martin de Porres' corporate work study program.

"Enrique got his scholarship through PCC Airfoils, the aeroproducts company that gives two full-rides to Akron to two seniors each year at St. Martin," Schneider said. "They are one of our corporate work-study partners.

"... John Groce and I have talked about how blessed both of us have been to get to know this kid and his family because he is one in a million. He absolutely is. The best thing is Enrique is such a good kid. He is such a good person. He has a huge heart, cares for people and is so super humble. Groce is like 'I could coach another 50 years and never get a kid like this again.'"

Enrique Freeman makes quite an impact on the Mid-American Conference

Freeman has been the talk of the MAC this season.

Miami coach Travis Steele loves Freeman.

"Enrique is a stud," Steele said last Thursday after the Zips defeated the RedHawks 75-63 in a MAC Tournament quarterfinal.

"He could play anywhere in America. I was fortunate to coach in the Big East and the Big 10 and he could play anywhere in America. Anywhere. Literally, anywhere. ... I'm not saying he's the best player I've ever coached against. I know this — he's got the highest motor I've ever played against in college basketball, and I've coached for a long time, and played and coached against some really good players, and that thing's infectious.

"His leadership, you just look at his character that Enrique has and how hard he plays, the teammate that he is. Everybody else is going to fall in line. How can you not? When that guy's playing that hard and he's the best player in the league, how do you not fall in line?"

Freeman scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Miami. RedHawks 6-8 senior Anderson Mirambeaux said Freeman does not take plays off: "I think that makes him a great player."

In the next game Friday, Freeman delivered 24 points, a MAC Tournament-record 21 rebounds and seven blocks in a 65-62 win over Ohio.

"Enrique down low, he's pretty much unstoppable," Ohio 6-8 sophomore Aidan Hadaway said.

"It's a constant deal with him," Ohio coach Jeff Boals said. "He plays so hard."

Freeman capped last weekend with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in a 62-61 win over Kent State in the MAC Tournament final Saturday.

"Enrique Freeman, in my opinion, is the most dominant player in the MAC — minus, I'm not going to talk about Kent guys, but I've been in the league for a long time — that I've ever seen," Kent State coach Rob Senderoff coach. "He's an unbelievable competitor, an unbelievable winner. Again, you compete against him, but you also watch how he interacts and how he acts on the court. I watch every game that they play. Just an unbelievable dude."

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

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Enrique Freeman goes from Akron basketball walk-on to March Madness