Jalen Freeman in a VHS game, March 2020
Photo courtesy of Joe Prax
ANCHORAGE (Sept. 3) – The Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team has bolstered its 2020-21 roster as head coach Rusty Osborne announced Thursday that former Valdez High School star Jalen Freeman has joined the Seawolves.
Last season’s AABC Class 3A Player of the Year and Aurora Conference MVP averaged 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and made 1.4 three-pointers per game, leading the Bucs to the No. 3 seed in the regional playoffs prior to the premature end of the campaign. The 6-0, 180-pound guard finished his career with 1,286 points, breaking modern-day school records for both points (30) and assists (10) in a game. He was the MVP of the Coastal Holiday Shootout and Valdez Elks Tournament, and made the all-tournament teams at the Mt. McKinley Classic and Palmer Elks Showdown.
“Jalen is a gifted young man with a bright future in our program,” said Osborne, who led the Seawolves to a 20-win season in 2019-20. “He made tremendous progress as a player in each of his high school seasons under Coach (Todd) Wegner, and we are excited to help him continue that improvement at the college level. It’s always terrific to add an Alaskan to our roster as well, and we hope he can continue the tradition of success we’ve had with 3A Players of the Year, following in the footsteps of Tobin Karlberg, Kyle Fossman, Gus Simmers, Lonnie Riddgeway, and fellow Valdez product Carl Arts.”
Freeman’s first three prep seasons saw the Bucs earn top-5 finishes at the ASAA State Championships every year, including runner-up as a junior in 2018-19. He made the All-Tournament Team that year, averaging 12.3 points and shooting 6-of-14 from long range in Valdez’s three games, with a 17-point effort in the semifinal win over Grace Christian and 10 points, three assists and three steals in the 56-53 title-game loss to Anchorage Christian.
Freeman becomes the fourth Alaskan on this year’s Seawolf roster, joining Anchorage natives Karlberg (Grace Christian), Evan Hoosier (Dimond) and Isaiah Moses (Dimond). He is the seventh member of the Seawolves’ 2020 recruiting class, joining transfers AJ Garrity (G, 6-3, Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS/Santiago Canyon JC), Tyson Gilbert (G, 6-2, Highlands Ranch, Colo./Rock Canyon HS/CSU-Pueblo), Caleb Larsen (G, 5-10, Wilsonville, Ore./WHS/Concordia-Portland), Vojtech Ruzek (F, 6-9, Rousinov, Czech Republic/Utah State Eastern) and Hunter Sweet (F, 6-4, Beaverton, Ore./BHS/Concordia-Portland), and fellow incoming freshman Moses, a 6-foot guard who was the Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year.