Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Former UCLA Bruins’ recruit Allerik Freeman will be transferring to the Baylor Bears, according to CBSSports.com.
This is a huge pickup for the Bears for many reasons. Here are a few: Freeman is a 4-star recruit, Pierre Jackson graduated and this could be a sign of many more highly rated recruits coming to Baylor.
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Although Freeman, or really anyone else for that matter, cannot take over for Jackson, Freeman could still make an impact on this team next season. However, that will all depend on how much playing time he gets and how he is used in the Baylor system.
The Bears did not make the NCAA Tournament this season, but they did come on strong at the end of the year and ended up winning the NIT. That has to count for something.
There is still plenty of great players returning to the team in the 2013-14 college basketball season, such as Isaiah Austin.
Ben Howland, who is the one who recruited Freeman in the first place, clearly saw something that he liked. Howland is a great recruiter, so you would have to think that the Bears are getting a great player with Freeman transferring to the school.
Although Jackson was the leading scorer on the team, Austin will likely have a more productive year when it comes to scoring the basketball. Still, he managed to average 13.2 points per game in his freshman season.
There is going to be plenty of talent on Baylor next year and Freeman is the latest piece to the puzzle.
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