Spencer Freedman

Spencer Freedman
No. 13 – NYU Violets
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueUniversity Athletic Association
Personal information
Born (1998-06-24) June 24, 1998 (age 26)
Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeHarvard (2018–2022) New York University (2023-present)

Spencer Freedman (born June 24, 1998) is an American college basketball player for the NYU Violets of the University Athletic Association. He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, where he was ranked among the top players in California. Freedman first competed with Santa Monica High School in his native Santa Monica, California.

Early and personal life

Freedman was born in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, and is Jewish; his father is Bryan Freedman, a lawyer who had studied at the University of California, Berkeley.[1][2][3][4] Spencer first played basketball at age 7 and started training regularly one year later.[2] In his junior year at Mater Dei, Freedman had a 4.3 grade point average (GPA) and drew attention from several Ivy League schools for his academic success.[4] While in high school, he had plans to major in business, political science, or law.[5]

High school career

Freedman played his freshman season at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. He joined the team as one of the top incoming freshman point guards, having drawn local attention at basketball camps and competitions in eighth grade.[6][7]

In his high school debut on June 12, 2014, Freedman scored 31 points, missing only two shots, in a win over Notre Dame High School.[6] He notched 25 points in the following game.[8] On January 24, 2015, he scored 17 points as his team was defeated by Las Vegas High School.[9]

In June 2015, Freedman left Santa Monica to transfer to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.[10] According to his father, he made the move for academic reasons.[11] By the beginning of his Mater Dei career, he held college offers from the Cal State Northridge Matadors, Rice Owls, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, and USC Trojans.[12] On February 26, 2016, in a 54–102 loss to Chino Hills High School, Freedman scored 10 points.[13] By the end of the season, he earned first-team All-County honors from the Orange County Register.[14] His team was ranked among the top 25 in the nation by USA Today High School Sports.[15]

In January 2017, in a win over Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Freedman posted 18 points and five assists for Mater Dei.[16] He led his team to a Trinity League title and an appearance at the CIF Southern Section Open Division Finals. At the end of the season, he was named most valuable player of the Trinity League.[17]

Recruiting

On June 9, Freedman committed to play college basketball for the Harvard Crimson.[18] He said, "No matter what, eventually the ball is going to stop bouncing and basketball will be over for everyone so I know college is not a four-year decision but a lifetime decision. By choosing Harvard, I'm getting an education that will set me up for a future past basketball."[18]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Spencer Freedman
PG 		Pacific Palisades, CA Mater Dei (CA) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jun 9, 2017 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: –  247Sports: 162  ESPN: –
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Harvard 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  • "2018 Harvard Crimson Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.

College career

Harvard

Freedman made his debut for Harvard on November 6, 2018, scoring six points in a 78–66 win over MIT.[19] Over the course of his Harvard career he played in 32 games while starting in three. Freedman totaled 81 points, 28 assists, and 20 rebounds while shooting 30.6% from beyond the arc.

NYU

After his career at Harvard he decided to pursue a graduate degree in Management and Systems (School of Professional Studies) at New York University (NYU). At NYU, after averaging 17.2 points and 5.6 assists in 2022-23, in 2023-24 he averaged 18.4 points (third in the University Athletic Association (UAA)) and 5.8 assists (10th in Division III) per game, his 77 three-pointers tied for first in the UAA, as he was second in three-point percentage (41.6) and third in field-goal percentage (49.3). He led the Violets to the DIII NCAA Tournament due to an at-large bid and being named to 1st Team All-Conference in the UAA.[20] He was named the Region 4 Player of the Year and First Team All-Region 4 by D3hoops.com and Third Team All-America by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).[20]

Maccabiah Games

Freedman played on the gold medal-winning Team USA basketball team at the 2019 European Maccabiah held in Budapest, Hungary, where the team defeated Team Russia in the final.[21]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Harvard DI

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG—Total Points
2018–19 Harvard 16 2 12.1 .310 .333 1.000 .5 1.2 .1 .0 2.8 -- 44
2019–20 Harvard 16 1 7.9 .40 26.9 .50 .8 .6 .2 0 2.3 -- 37
Career 32 3 10.0 .35 .30 .80 .6 .9 .2 .0 2.5 -- 81

New York University DIII

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG—Total Points
2018–19 Harvard 26 26 32.2 53.4 50.4 83.7 2.5 5.5 1.2 .1

References

  1. ^ "Sports Shorts". Jewish Sports Review. 12 (137): 17. January–February 2020.
  2. ^ a b Simpson, David Mark (October 7, 2014). "Hyped point guard loving Samohi". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  3. ^ Atwell, Blake (March 24, 2017). "Hard work pays off: The Spencer Freedman story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Gorcey, Ryan (July 8, 2016). "Spencer Freedman Talks Academic Heavyweights". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Atwell, Blake (March 5, 2017). "CIF SS Open Division player profile: Spencer Freedman". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Sondheimer, Eric (June 11, 2014). "Freshman Spencer Freedman is impressive for Santa Monica". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  7. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (May 30, 2014). "Spencer Freedman selects Santa Monica as his high school". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  8. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (June 16, 2014). "Teams are unveiling talented freshmen in summer basketball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "Raybon breaks tie, lifts Wildcats past Santa Monica". NevadaPreps.com. January 24, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  10. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (June 8, 2015). "Spencer Freedman leaves Santa Monica for Mater Dei". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  11. ^ Goodman, Jeffrey I. (June 19, 2015). "Hoops prospect leaves Samohi for Mater Dei". Santa Monica Daily Press. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  12. ^ Gershon, Josh (February 3, 2016). "Four offers for 2018 PG Spencer Freedman". Scout.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  13. ^ Fryer, Steve (February 26, 2016). "Mater Dei has long, painful night against high-flying Chino Hills". Orange County Register. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  14. ^ Fryer, Steve (April 4, 2016). "All-County boys basketball team: First team". Orange County Register. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  15. ^ "No. 21 Mater Dei leads four new teams in boys Super 25 basketball rankings". USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  16. ^ Fryer, Steve (January 18, 2017). "Mater Dei shows why it reigns in Trinity League". Orange County Register. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  17. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (March 22, 2017). "Spencer Freedman is Trinity League MVP". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  18. ^ a b Gershon, Josh (June 9, 2017). "Top 100 PG Spencer Freedman chooses Harvard". Scout.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  19. ^ "MIT at Harvard". Harvard University. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  20. ^ a b "Freedman Recognized by NABC and D3hoops," NYU Athletics, March 21, 2024.
  21. ^ Noah Friedman (June 30, 2022). "Maccabi USA Men’s Open Basketball Team To Embark on Variety of Journeys," Maccabi USA.