By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s basketball redshirt junior Al Freeman will graduate in May and play his final season of college basketball as a graduate transfer at another university, according to Director of athletic communications David Kaye.
Freeman averaged 9.2 points per game on 39 percent shooting from 3-point range for a Bears team that made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
“Al has been a tremendous student-athlete and made great contributions to our program over the last four years,” Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew said in a statement. “We’re thrilled that he’s going to complete his degree at Baylor. He’ll always be part of the Baylor family, and we’ll be rooting for him as he continues his career.”
Freeman sat out his first year in the program after he suffered a wrist injury in the preseason. In his freshman season, Freeman played in all 34 games, garnering one start and playing 17 minutes per game.
Freeman found his starting role in 2015-16 for the Bears, starting in all 34 games while playing 30 minutes per game and averaging 11.3 points per game while leading the team with 50 makes from beyond the 3-point line.
This year, Freeman picked up where he left off but hit a bump when he was suspended for four games for a violation of team rules.
When he returned from suspension, he lost his starting spot to sophomore shooting guard King McClure for the remainder of the season.
In the NCAA Tournament, Freeman led all scorers with 21 points in the first round against New Mexico State but failed to score in the win over USC and managed only four points in the loss to South Carolina.
Freeman originally signed with UCLA in November of 2012 before de-committing and choosing the Bears in May of 2013.
Freeman played high school basketball for Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., and was ranked as the No. 62 recruit in the class of 2013 by Scout.com, according to his profile on Baylorbears.com.
