Joel Freeland

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Joel Freeland


caption =
position = Forward/Center
nickname =
jersey = 41
height_ft = 6
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 245
league =
team = CB Gran Canaria
nationality = British
birth_date = birth date and age|1987|2|7
birth_place = Farnham, Surrey, England, UK
highschool = Farnham Heath End School
college = Farnborough College of Technology
draft = 30th overall
draft_year = 2006
draft_team = Portland Trail Blazers
career_start = 2006
former_teams =
awards =

Joel Freeland (born February 7 1987 in Farnham, Surrey, England) is a British basketball player selected in the 2006 NBA Draft. He is a forward/center.

Freeland started his career with English Basketball League side Solent Stars, who are based in Southampton. While he was playing basketball he also had a job as a shelf stacker in Farnham. His most current team is CB Gran Canaria, of the Spanish ACB league. He has been described as both a power forward and center. His playing style has been compared to David Lee [ [http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?playerId=19010&draftyear=2006 ESPN - 2006 NBA Draft - Joel Freeland - England - DraftTracker Player Card ] ] of the New York Knicks and former NBA player Keon Clark. [ [http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/joelfreeland.asp NBA Draft.net - Joel Freeland profile ] ]

On June 28, 2006, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft with the 30th overall pick. However, the Trail Blazers encouraged him to return to European play to further improve his game; in August 2006 he signed a 2-year contract with CB Gran Canaria. [ [http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/305/nba/es/desarrollo/678618.html Freeman jugará en la ACB con el Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas - Marca.com ] ]

Freeland averaged 14.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.8 blocks per game for the 2005-06 season. However, when he returned to Gran Canaria for the 2006-07 season after having been drafted by Portland, he played in only 15 games and his minutes were drastically reduced.

Notes

External links

*NBA-profile
* [http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/joelfreeland.asp NBADraft.net Profile]
* [http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2007/07/freeland_070107.MP3 2007 Summer League interview, part 1 (MP3)]
* [http://blog.oregonlive.com/blazers/2007/07/freeland2_070107.MP3 2007 Summer League interview, part 2 (MP3)]
* [http://www.acb.com/stsacumjug.php?cod_jugador=Y39 Career ACB statistics (in Spanish)]