Donnie Freeman

Donald E. Freeman (born July 18, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent eight seasons (1967–1975) in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and one season (1975–1976) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Freeman was the youngest of four children.

Donnie Freeman
Personal information
Born (1944-07-18) July 18, 1944
Madison, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolMadison (Madison, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois (1963–1966)
NBA draft1966 / Round: 3 / Pick: 29th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1967–1976
PositionGuard
Number20, 13
Career history
1967–1970Minnesota Muskies / Miami Floridians
1971Utah Stars
1971–1972Texas / Dallas Chaparrals
1972–1974Indiana Pacers
1974–1975San Antonio Spurs
1975–1976Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points12,233 (18.9 ppg)
Rebounds2,292 (3.5 rpg)
Assists2,292 (3.5 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school and college career

A 6'3" guard, Freeman attended Madison High School and the University of Illinois. At Illinois, he scored 1449 points and averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game over his three varsity seasons. After finishing his college career as the most prolific scorer in Illinois history, he now ranks 12th all-time in Illinois scoring, and set a record for most points in a season (668), averaging 27.8 in 1965-66. He received first team All Big Ten and first team All-American honors that same season. In 2004, he was named to the University of Illinois' All Century Team.

Playing career

He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the third round of the 1966 NBA Draft. Freeman never played for the Sixers; rather, he spent the first eight seasons of his career in the ABA, playing for the Minnesota Muskies, Miami Floridians, Texas/Dallas Chaparrals, Utah Stars, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs. He scored 11,544 during his ABA career and appeared in five ABA All-Star Games. His point total ranks 7th all-time in the ABA. Freeman then joined the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in 1975. He spent one season with that club, averaging 10.8 points per game before retiring in 1976.

After his career ended, he returned to Champaign, Illinois, where he launched a career in banking. His son, also named Don, was born in 1967, and later attended Rice University on a tennis scholarship. In 1981, he moved to Texas and later to Omaha, Nebraska, where he still resides.

Honors

Basketball
  • 1966 - Team Captain[1]
  • 1966 - Team MVP
  • 1966 - 1st Team All-Big Ten
  • 1973 - Inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame as a player.[2][3]
  • 2008 - Honored as one of the 33 honored jerseys which hang in the State Farm Center to show regard for being the most decorated basketball players in the University of Illinois' history.
  • 2019 - Inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame[4]

College
Season Games Points PPG Field Goals Attempts Avg Free Throws Attempts Avg Rebounds Avg Big Ten
Record		 Overall
Record
1963–64
24
341
14.2
130
316
.411
81
122
.664
231
9.6
6–8
13–11
1964–65
24
440
18.3
178
365
.488
84
122
.689
226
9.4
10–4
18–6
1965–66
24
668
27.8
258
595
.434
152
197
.772
285
11.9
8–6
12–12
Totals
72
1449
20.1
566
1276
.444
317
441
.719
742
10.3
24–18
43–29

[5]

ABA/NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
† Denotes season in which Freeman won an ABA championship
* Led the league

Regular season
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1967–68 Minnesota 6935.2.409.7154.72.816.3
1968–69 Miami 7836.8.484.7873.76.422.1
1969–70 Miami 7940.1.456.8225.13.727.4
1970–71 Utah 2433.4.479.8315.74.923.6
1970–71 Texas 4238.4.485.7784.55.123.6
1971–72 Dallas 7233.0.471.8252.93.424.1
1972–73 Indiana 7728.2.443.8082.82.514.3
1973–74 Indiana 6626.3.456.7972.52.514.3
1974–75 San Antonio 7730.9.448.8212.42.615.5
1975–76 Los Angeles 6423.1.434.8192.82.710.8
Career 64832.4.457.8003.53.518.9

Playoffs
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1968 Minnesota 1036.5.418.7305.05.615.8
1969 Miami 1236.2.458.8134.04.221.4
1971 Texas 436.0.452.8136.01.322.3
1972 Dallas 436.0.437.6306.02.526.8
1973 Indiana 1830.9.443.7982.72.815.6
1974 Indiana 626.3.435.7001.71.312.3
1975 San Antonio 627.7.458.8002.33.212.3
Career 6032.8.444.7673.63.317.3

All-star game
Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1968 Minnesota 124.0.615.6674.02.020.0
1969 Miami 127.0.5381.0006.07.021.0
1970 Miami 124.0.250.6674.05.010.0
1971 Texas 127.0.500.6257.03.017
1972 Dallas 121.0.375.8755.02.013
Career 524.6.452.7815.23.816.2

References
  1. FightingIllini.com
  2. IBCA Hall of Fame
  3. BasketballMuseumOfIllinois.com
  4. Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
  5. Sports-Reference.com
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