Class of 2023 C Owen Freeman (IL) Portal to Auburn

[JarHeadJim]

Keep an eye out here….

 

[JarHeadJim]

It would be nice to have a kid named Freeman who could play some defense!

 

[JarHeadJim]

Omaha has a nice zoo. I have no comment on this other stuff

They have some good Steaks

 

[jsshap]

Why ? He says it’s not injury. You’re the most sensitive and politically correct person on the board

If you are asking that question, lets hope you are college age. If not, and you think that is just being "politically correct," ye gods get a ing clue.

 

[bnoro]

Why ? He says it’s not injury. You’re the most sensitive and politically correct person on the board

Let's just throw out speculation about substance abuse or mental health, because no one on these boards runs with incorrect info ever.

Also, hilarious you probably meant this as an insult. Oh no, I care about other people, whatever will I do?

 

[RF2044]

OmahaCuse, thanks for sharing the "local" / Creighton perspective.

I can certainly understand their buyer's remorse, given how things worked out, but don't worry about it too much. To me, the bigger questions are:

• Why did he leave Iowa, after being B1G ROY?

• After what happened at Creighton last year, is he going to play hard at wherever his new destination is, or was him packing it in / counting his check a red flag?

Up to GMac to decide.

 

[Caleb8800]

OmahaCuse, thanks for sharing the "local" / Creighton perspective.

I can certainly understand their buyer's remorse, given how things worked out, but don't worry about it too much. To me, the bigger questions are:

• Why did he leave Iowa, after being B1G ROY?

• After what happened at Creighton last year, is he going to play hard at wherever his new destination is, or was him packing it in / counting his check a red flag?

Up to GMac to decide.

He left to get a bag like most players

 

[MSOrange]

OmahaCuse, thanks for sharing the "local" / Creighton perspective.

I can certainly understand their buyer's remorse, given how things worked out, but don't worry about it too much. To me, the bigger questions are:

• Why did he leave Iowa, after being B1G ROY?

• After what happened at Creighton last year, is he going to play hard at wherever his new destination is, or was him packing it in / counting his check a red flag?

Up to GMac to decide.

I can provide some insight on leaving Iowa - practically their whole team hit the portal after Fran got fired, which is understandable. BUT there was some speculation that Owen might have tried to cash in even if Fran had stayed and that he decided to have the finger surgery once he knew he was leaving Iowa. Some of these tweets allude to that. Owen denied that of course, so who really knows what's true, outside of his inner circle.

How Iowa basketball fans reacted to Owen Freeman entering the transfer portal

Iowa fans aren't sold that Owen Freeman entered the transfer portal because of the coaching change.

hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com

 

[anglerman]

Let's just throw out speculation about substance abuse or mental health, because no one on these boards runs with incorrect info ever.

Also, hilarious you probably meant this as an insult. Oh no, I care about other people, whatever will I do?

Look there has to a reason that’s not a physical problem. No it was not meant to be an insult. Just stating what I have seen in your posts

 

[RyanCuse44]

Does he have psychiatric or substance abuse problems?

I think I will after reading all this .

 

[Strathless]

Not sure this is quite as mysterious as it is made out to be. Creighton paid a lot of money to land Freeman and it didn't work out. OmahaCuse wrote that Freeman was hurt to begin the season, potentially a circumstance that Creighton did not prepare / budget for. By the time conference play started last year, their tournament chances were already shot. That generates a lot of tension in the locker room and angst in the fanbase. Maybe not the whole story, but we've seen this movie before. Best for all parties to cut bait and move on.

 

[cusefan88]

Not sure this is quite as mysterious as it is made out to be. Creighton paid a lot of money to land Freeman and it didn't work out. OmahaCuse wrote that Freeman was hurt to begin the season, potentially a circumstance that Creighton did not prepare / budget for. By the time conference play started last year, their tournament chances were already shot. That generates a lot of tension in the locker room and angst in the fanbase. Maybe not the whole story, but we've seen this movie before. Best for all parties to cut bait and move on.

Probably going to be a relatively common story for NIL/portal. High-priced hired gun comes in making more than returnees. Doesn't have a good year for whatever reason and the locker room breaks down.

 

[RF2044]

Probably going to be a relatively common story for NIL/portal. High-priced hired gun comes in making more than returnees. Doesn't have a good year for whatever reason and the locker room breaks down.

Agreed. And the question is whether this is a guy who is just cashing checks or someone you can count upon to work hard and be a solid locker room presence as a first year coach seeking to implement culture change.

 

[RF2044]

I can provide some insight on leaving Iowa - practically their whole team hit the portal after Fran got fired, which is understandable. BUT there was some speculation that Owen might have tried to cash in even if Fran had stayed and that he decided to have the finger surgery once he knew he was leaving Iowa. Some of these tweets allude to that. Owen denied that of course, so who really knows what's true, outside of his inner circle.

How Iowa basketball fans reacted to Owen Freeman entering the transfer portal

Iowa fans aren't sold that Owen Freeman entered the transfer portal because of the coaching change.

hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com

Thanks, MSOrange.

Understandable when your coach leaves. No red flag there.

 

[SaltineW]

I've read through the entirety of the thread and considered each poster's comments. Here's my verdict:

 

[OmahaCuse]

It would be nice to have a kid named Freeman who could play some defense!

If that were the case I would agree, the prior Freeman is a much better defender.

 

[PeteCalvin]

They have some good Steaks

Went to Omaha a few years ago for a business trip. Met some great people, had a great dinner, and drove past Creighton just so I could snap a picture and send it to my sports obsessed son.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Went to Omaha a few years ago for a business trip. Met some great people, had a great dinner, and drove past Creighton just so I could snap a picture and send it to my sports obsessed son.

Omaha is a sneaky cool city.

 

[Orangezoo]

If that were the case I would agree, the prior Freeman is a much better defender.

Interesting .. considering Donnie struggled mightily or just didn’t care for a large part of last year defensively

 

[granthath9]

Interesting .. considering Donnie struggled mightily or just didn’t care for a large part of last year defensively

Owen also had really good defensive numbers at Iowa…

 

[RedtheGOB]

Interesting .. considering Donnie struggled mightily or just didn’t care for a large part of last year defensively

Donnie had never beaten a Quad 1 team over two years of college.

 

[sufan59]

If that were the case I would agree, the prior Freeman is a much better defender.

Donnie Freeman has potential to be a much better defender, in fact a much better everything, but right now it's Owen Freeman in the defense category. But seriously we're comparing two very different players.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Went to Omaha a few years ago for a business trip. Met some great people, had a great dinner, and drove past Creighton just so I could snap a picture and send it to my sports obsessed son.

My son went to school for a year across the river at Iowa Western CC. It was during Covid, so not a lot of action in Omaha when we went for dinner, but we also had great steaks. Kind of a cool city. Much bigger (geographically speaking) than I had thought. The area we were in was very clean as well.

 

[Orangezoo]

I hear Payton Manning is a big fan too…

 

[OmahaCuse]

Iowa had a losing recorded and a horrible defense (ranked 147th) in 2024-2025 but scored a lot of points as they ran up and down the court. Creighton had a horrible defense especially inside defense in 2025- 2026 (ranked over 100) and also had a losing record. They had absolutely zero rim protection, quickness or ability to stop any center or drive to the lane. Take the above for what its worth and again I really hope we get a rim protector and someone who can stop on ball driving.