Matt Freeman to Oklahoma: Sooners Land 4-Star PF Prospect
August 7, 2015
The Oklahoma Sooners added versatility and impressive shooting to their 2016 recruiting class Thursday with the addition of power forward Matt Freeman.
Evan Daniels of Scout.com noted that the New Zealand native “verbally committed to Oklahoma on Thursday” and provided a quote from the forward: "The coaches are great and I just see myself fitting in there better than anywhere else. I see it as the best opportunity for me as an individual to develop into the best player I can be. It's a great place too and the campus is beautiful."
247Sports did not have a star rating for Freeman at the time of his commitment, but he is listed as a 6’10” and 212-pound power forward. Scout ranked Freeman as a 4-star prospect in Daniels' article.
Freeman drew interest from a number of marquee programs throughout the recruiting process, including Tennessee, Notre Dame, Butler, Vanderbilt and Dayton.
It is no wonder so many teams looked his way given his ability to stretch the floor from the forward position with his outside shooting. While he is more than capable of battling down low for rebounds given his size, Freeman presents a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses because of his soft touch.
He can draw power forwards outside of their comfort zone with that perimeter shot or post up small forwards who can keep up with him outside.
Jeff Borzello of ESPN was impressed with Freeman and praised the addition for the Sooners:
Freeman represents yet another talented cog in Oklahoma’s 2016 class. It was already ranked in the top 10 by 247Sports’ composite rankings before the forward’s decision thanks to the presence of Kameron McGusty and Kristian Doolittle.
McGusty is listed as a shooting guard, while Doolittle is a small forward, which means there is plenty of positional versatility in this group already. It is not difficult to envision this impressive trio starting alongside each other a couple of years down the road and creating matchup problems with their shooting prowess.
Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger has plenty of momentum on the recruiting trail.