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Player Spotlight: Joel Freeland, Kalise Gran Canaria
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 There are several examples of European basketball players who were tagged stars-in-the-making at a very early age - Arvydas Sabonis, Drazen Petrovic and Ricky Rubio come to mind - and were even famous by the tender age of 16. Until he was that age, Kalise Gran Canaria big man Joel Freeland had never even played organized basketball. In just five years since then, however, he has become one of the brightest hopes of British basketball. By taking firm steps forward with a patient club, Freeland has now become a key part of Gran Canaria's best start ever in the Spanish League, where it shares first place, and its high hopes in the Eurocup. "Definitely, the hard work is paying off little by little," Freeland told Eurocupbasketball.com. "It is all about being patient."
Joel Daniel Freeland was born in Aldershot, England, but was raised in Farnham, western Surrey, just like rugby superstar Jonny Wilkinson. Football was his first sport, since his father, Rob Freeland, was a diehard fan. "I started playing basketball when I was 16, so I had been playing football for eight years already," Joel said. "I grew up playing football because I grew up in a football-oriented family. Basketball never really came into my mind. I have always been tall, the biggest guy in my class at school, but in England, basketball in not one of the sports that I would have tried as a kid. I got introduced to basketball at high school and I loved it. I carried on playing and things happened very quickly. It's been tough, but it's been good, too."
In 2004, just months after starting in basketball, Freeland was nominated for the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) by England Basketball's performance manager Radmila Turner. Freeland traveled to Southampton to work with coaches Jimmie Guymon and Mick Byrne. Guymon is considered one of England's best coaches of fundamentals and his team, Solent Stars, an excellent development program for young players. Guymon had begun to consider retiring from coaching, but the opportunity to work with Freeland changed his mind. "I first saw him in a junior tournament, where he got into serious foul trouble with charging fouls, because all he wanted to do was knock people out of the way and dunk the ball - I was not impressed by him at that time," Guymon said. " At the time, Joel had really only been playing about a year, so he was very raw, but extremely athletic," Guymon said. "I was looking to get out of coaching at the time, but told his father that I would come back into it and dedicate the entire year to building a foundation of solid basic skills in his son."
That promise meant Freeland would join the junior program in Southampton with a year-long program laid out - and some unexpected lessons, too.
 "When Joel first got here, he was absolute dynamite for the first two minutes on court," Guymon said. "Then, he totally ran out of steam. Joel was used to playing football and playing just in an area of the pitch, where he could get long rests when the ball was away from him. We told him in no uncertain terms that basketball is not football and all the time a basketball player is on court he has to play hard. When his lungs were burning and he felt like his guts were going to fall out, he still had to continue to play and play hard. That was his first lesson on becoming a basketball player."
Long after Freeland left for Gran Canaria, he still consults Guymon for coaching. "He is a great coach and we worked out together this summer, in the off-season," Freeland said. "He is a picky coach, everything has to be perfect and that really helps me."
At age 17 and already 2.08 meters high, Freeland was working in a local supermarket stacking shelves, working to raise money for his own basketball development. Nothing stopped Freeland on his way to becoming one of the best English players his age, despite his lack of experience. "Well, I worked in a supermarket, but it was more like a part-time job, something that everybody does when they are young. The main person who really corresponded my whole thing was my father. He took time out of his schedule to take me around, three or four times a week, to get to practice," Freeland said. "The main thing that kept me going is the fact that I was improving all the time. I hadn't played at all and within two or three months, I was already training with a professional team. That progression went out of control and kind of kept me going. That kept me committed and kept me working hard after practice."
It all paid off in the summer of 2005, when he played for the English national team at the under-18 European Championships in Ruzomberok, Slovakia. Despite being totally unknown, Freeland made the most of the opportunity, averaging 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in eight games. "Gran Canaria came to me in that tournament, when I was thinking about going to the States to play college basketball," Freeland recalls. "They approached me through Roberto Orellana, who was their scout at the time. He showed me the option to play in Europe and a friend of mine, Dan Clark, had taken that option in the past. I just thought it was the right thing for me to do. It really appealed to me. I loved it."
 Freeland first played transition season in Gran Canaria's fourth-division farm team, averaging 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds. He also excelled in the Spanish ACB League's under-20 circuit, showing his defensive skills, versatility and talent. That led to an invitation to take part in 2006 RBK Treviso EuroCamp in Italy, where Freeland again impressed with his intensity and, despite not being known much beforehand, was chosen as the camp's best power forward.
The next season, Freeland started to playing time in the Spanish League and the ULEB Cup, where he averaged 1.5 points in eight games as his first taste of continental club competition. "I always came here with the mindset that I was going to play with the younger team anyway, and practice with the ACB team when I had the opportunity," Freeland said. "They have been very patient and helped me a lot with the progression that I had. I might not be playing a lot in the last two or three years, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for Gran Canaria."
In last season's ULEB Cup, Freeland started meeting and beating the expectations, averaging 7.5 points on 70% two-point shooting in 15 minutes per game, helping Gran Canaria to within a few points of reaching Final Eight. "I played more time in the ULEB Cup than in the ACB, which is a great competition," Freeland explained. " Being 19 at the time, I think it would be really hard for me to play in the ACB right away, at that kind of level. The ULEB Cup kind of eased me into this standard that I had to step up to. It really helped me, because the ULEB Cup was a powerful standard for me to learn the game. It really helped me out."
Last summer, Freeland's performance with the British national team only confirmed his rising-star status. His 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game helped Great Britain qualify for its first EuroBasket since 1981. Of course, the 2012 Olympic Games are still far away, but Great Britain is certainly taking part as the host country. Even though Great Britain has never been a basketball superpower, the possibility of having a strong team featuring Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Freeland, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng could change things. "Reaching EuroBasket 2009 is a step forwards," as Freeland told us. "We have a very, very good team now. People underestimated us and they can't do that anymore because we proved this summer that we are a completely different team with great young players. We have learned to play together and we are not the underdogs coming into the games, not anymore. When 2012 comes around, it is going to be unbelievable. I really can't wait."
 Along looking more confident following his national team duty, Freeland has looked stronger than ever in helping Gran Canaria tie for first place through seven weeks in the Spanish League. "I think that I put on 10 kilos of muscle in the last year," he said. "I am not getting pushed around anymore." That added strength helped Gran Canaria waltz through its Eurocup qualifying games against Benetton Olympic Fribourg, with Freeland as the team's top scorer in both. "My only goal right now is to keep playing harder and to do my best," he says. "Every time I step on the floor I want to work hard and let the game come to me. I am not trying to force things or take stupid shots, but just to help my team to get good wins. My only goal in the Eurocup season is to keep playing hard and to do my best."
Freeland is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and could well step up to a Euroleague team. He is very passionate about basketball and the Euroleague may well be the right fit for him, as offers will surely be coming from several countries around the continent. "It would be great to play in the Euroleague," he said. "I have to wait until next year to see which options I have, but yes, it is a possibility. I would love to step up to the Euroleague. It is a great competition that I love to watch. It would be an honor for me to play in the Euroleague."
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Javier Gancedo, Eurocupbasketball.com
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