DON FREEMAN

BASKETBALL

Born: July 18, 1944; Madison, Illinois
Played For: University of Illinois (19*63-1966), Minnesota Muskies/Miami Floridians (1967-1970), Utah Stars (1971), Texas/Dallas Chaparrals (1971-1972), Indiana Pacers (1972-1974), San Antonio Spurs (1974-1975), Los Angeles Lakers (1975-1976)

By Steve Porter 

Don Freeman could do it all on a basketball court. He could score, rebound, defend, and handle the ball like few others that played the game. “He was Michael Jordan before there was Michael Jordan,” said former Cahokia High basketball coach Ken McBride, a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. 

McBride should know. He watched Freeman’s Madison High team beat the Comanches three times during the 1961-62 season when the Trojans compiled a 28-1 record and won a regional championship. Madison won its first 28 games that season before being upset by Belleville Township in the sectional. While that loss may have frustrated Freeman, he certainly didn’t disappoint anyone during his fabulous career. 

The 6-foot-3 Freeman was an All-State center in high school, an All-America forward at the University of Illinois and an all-pro guard in the American Basketball Association. He’s a member of the IBCA Hall of Fame, the U of I Hall of Fame and has the Madison High Gym named in his honor.

Now at age 78, he’s a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, joining the Class of 2023. “I’ve come a long way and basketball game me a chance to go to college,” Freeman said, reflecting on his stellar career. “Being the first in my family to get a (college) diploma is the greatest achievement of my life.” There are plenty of great accomplishments.

Following his sparkling career at Madison, Freeman became one of the greatest players in U of I history. He averaged a school-record 27.8 points per game during his senior season in 1965-66 and his outstanding play for the Illini earned him a spot on the school’s All-Century basketball team. Freeman averaged 20.1 PPG in his Illinois career. 

“He was such a versatile player because he could play any position,” the late Jerry Soehlke said in 2019. Soehlke served as a starting guard at Collinsville High in the early 1960s and watched Freeman and the Trojans dismantle the defending state champion Kahoks 83-44 in the title game of the 1962 East Alton-Wood River Regional. Triad High defender Bob Semanisin noted: “He (Freeman) was like trying to guard an eel.” 

Freeman’s success extended to the pros. He found a home in the ABA. Freeman played in that pro league from 1967-75 and then later with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. Overall, he scored more than 12,000 points, was five-time ABA All-Star and was voted to the league’s all-time squad. He won a championship ring with the 1973 Indiana Pacers. He also played for Minnesota, Miami, Utah, Dallas, and San Antonio of the ABA. 

Following his playing career, Freeman became a banker and eventually a senior bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo., based in Omaha, Neb. 

So, he has seen it all in addition to doing it all during a remarkable life. He was the youngest of four children growing up in Madison. His dad was a night watchman and his mother was a domestic worker. Freeman knows he has made the most of his life. “Without basketball, I would have worked at a steel mill in Granite City,” he said.