When Tony Freeman played his first game for Indiana two years ago, he helped ignite the Hoosiers to a season-opening victory in 22 minutes of action. He had seven points, three assists and two steals.
Tuesday night in the Pavilion, the 5-foot-7-inch Freeman made his home debut for Illinois-Chicago and sparked the Flames to a 97-84 triumph over Loyola. He collected 26 points, 6 assists and 5 steals.
”It`s great to come home and help pull out a win like this,” said the former St. Joseph High star, ”especially after we kind of embarrassed ourselves at Champaign (an 85-59 loss to Illinois) in the last game.
”At Indiana, I was in and out a lot, and that`s why I transferred. I`ve been in pressure situations before, even in high school.”
Freeman had nothing but praise for his short stay under Indiana coach Bob Knight. If this happy story of a Hoosier transfer catches you off guard, think of what the little point guard did to Loyola.
His performance boosted the Flames to their first victory over a Chicago-area Division I opponent and major recruiting rival. They were 0-3 against Loyola.
”Freeman`s the best thing that`s happened to our program,” said UIC coach Bob Hallberg. ”He`s the quarterback of our team, especially with our big guys (Darren Guest and Derrick Johnson) struggling.”
Freeman`s performance spoiled Loyola`s last tuneup for Saturday`s meeting with NCAA champion Kansas.
”It`s going to be a challenge, 18,000 screaming fans in Allen Fieldhouse,” coach Gene Sullivan said of the visit to the Big Eight school.
”I was looking forward to it, but we`ve obviously got a lot more work to do.”
The Ramblers were fortified by the return of their No. 1 scorer, Gerald Hayward, after the 6-6 forward missed Loyola`s opening 98-76 wipeout of Chicago State. Hayward, coming off a hamstring problem, poured in 31 points to lead all scorers.
But aside from Keith Gailes` 20 points, Hayward`s teammates suddenly turned shy in this second outing. The Ramblers, who shot a terrible 41 percent for the night, trailed throughout the second half.
The Flames extended a 50-47 halftime lead to 14 points just before the final buzzer. Nine players scored for the winners, and each made contributions with the outcome still in doubt.
”The key was our depth,” said Hallberg. ”We had a deeper bench. You can`t win anymore in basketball with just five guys. You have to have eight or nine people.”
And at Illinois-Chicago, it`s obviously going to be a big help if one of them is Tony Freeman.
