Hawkeyes’ Owen Freeman lives up to his height, is multidimensional post player

Fran McCaffery says he knew he was getting in Owen Freeman, and oh, how he liked it.

“We recruited him as an impact player,” Iowa men’s basketball coach McCaffery said Tuesday. “When he committed to us, we were really excited. I felt very comfortable at that time that he was going to be immediately impactful.”

The 6-foot-10 Freeman has been just that. Tuesday, he was named Big Ten men’s basketball Freshman of the Year by a media panel and co-Freshman of the Year with Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako by the league’s coaches.

About the latter: “Obviously, Mackenzie’s a great player and I’ve got respect for him,” Freeman said. “But I was a little surprised, yeah.”

Freeman may have figured getting the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Week honor nine times would have been a tiebreaker. He became Iowa’s first Freshman of the Year since Jess Settles in 1994.

Iowa had other Big Ten honorees Tuesday. The coaches chose senior guard Tony Perkins as a second-team all-league performer, and junior forward Payton Sandfort was third-team by coaches and media. Freeman and Ben Krikke were given honorable mention.

“Well-represented, well-deserved,” McCaffery said.

Freeman, a 6-foot-10 center from Moline, Ill., is averaging 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots. He had five blocks in the Hawkeyes’ 73-61 loss to Illinois Sunday.

Perkins averages 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Sandfort, the league’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, averages 16.2 points and 6.5 rebounds and leads the Big Ten in 3-pointers with 83.

Freeman hasn’t made a 3 this season. That is an element that, if added, could help give Iowa another All-America player.

“I think that’s the next step for him,” said McCaffery, “facing up at 17 feet, picking and popping, shooting 3s. We’ll work with him on that. That will definitely help him with his pro career down the road.”

It isn’t as if Freeman’s game hasn’t been multidimensional, especially for a freshman post player. He has made 63.6 percent of his field goal tries, has shown a variety of slick post moves, has been a good and willing passer to open shooters, and is second on the Hawkeyes to Perkins in steals.

“My confidence is really surrounded by my faith,” Freeman said. “The more I feel connected with God, the more confident I am. That’s who I am, and that allows me to be who I am on the court.

“I’m not really surprised by anything. If anything, I feel like there’s more that I could have shown. But I’ll just continue to be in the gym working and I’ll be able to show that next year.”

Iowa men’s basketball notes

• Perkins, a fourth-year senior, said Tuesday that he hasn’t decided if he will play another season of college ball, allowed to him with the NCAA’s COVID-19 year waiver.

• Iowa has put in a bid to host National Invitation Tournament games should it not earn an NCAA tourney berth, and would likely host a first-round game next Tuesday should it be in the NIT.

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