The Latest on Joel Freeland

For some reason (laziness) this blog hasn't written much on Joel Freeland since I stalked him down on myspace and e-mailed him a bunch of questions over a year ago. When I saw he wasn't on the summer league roster last summer, I feared the worst. It turned out he wasn't there because Gran Canaria wouldn't allow it. Understandable.

Today Portland Trailbloggers links to a recent interview with Joel at Basketball 24/7. The exciting news is that Joel's contract with Gran Canaria is up after this season. Judgement day on his Portland Trailblazer career is rapidly approaching. Joel comes off positive as always, saying he hopes for twelve to fifteen minuters per game this season.

His ACB team is currently 3-4. Joel is getting his 15 minutes a game (a reasonable amount in Europe, shorter games remember) and averaging 10 points and 4.2 boards. He is also shooting a dunkalicious 73% from the field.

Freeland is still just 21 years old. If he continues to impress in the ACB, we could very well see him in the NBA next season. Hopefully he will be another impressive young talent on the Blazers roster.