Matt Freije
Encyclopedia
Matthew Wayne Freije (born October 2, 1981) is a Lebanese American professional basketball player who currently plays for Hebraica y Macabi
in Uruguay. Freije attended Shawnee Mission West High School
in Overland Park, Kansas
before attending Vanderbilt University
where he was an All-SEC performer. He was selected 53rd overall in the 2004 NBA Draft
by the Miami Heat
, was then released and later played for the New Orleans Hornets. He played 19 games for the Atlanta Hawks
during the 2006-07 season
but was waived in December 2006 to clear a roster spot for Slava Medvedenko
.
Commodores men's basketball team from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 he was named First Team All-SEC
and led the Commodores to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. He left Vanderbilt as the leading scorer in school history, having surpassed Phil Cox in 2004. His record was broken in 2008 by Shan Foster
.
Freije's tremendous career as a Commodore was highlighted by his senior year campaign, where he led Vanderbilt to a 23-10 record and a trip to the 2004 NCAA Tournament as a 6 seed. During the regular season, Freije had four thirty-point games, 32 vs. Indiana on Nov. 24th, 31 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 13th, 32 vs. Alabama on Feb. 18th, and 31 vs. North Carolina State on Mar. 21st. The Commodores started the season 12-0 until losing at Kentucky on Jan. 10th. Vanderbilt, however, got its revenge three weeks later at home with a 66-60 victory over the #5 ranked Wildcats at a rocking Memorial Gymnasium in a game where Freije scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds.
Vanderbilt would subsequently advance to the NCAA Tournament, and following a first round win over Western Michigan, Freije led the Commodores to the Sweet Sixteen following a stunning comeback victory over the 3 seed North Carolina State Wolfpack, a game where the Commodores rallied from an eleven-point deficit in the final 3:45 of the game http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/ncaa/specials/ncaa_tourney/2004/03/21/bc.bkc.ncaa.vanderbilt.nc.ap/index.html. Freije scored 31 points during the victory, including 11 during the final 3:28 of the game. During his 1st team All-SEC senior season, he posted averages of 18.4 ppg along with 5.4 rpg and was the established leader for a motivated Commodore team coming off an 11-19 season the year before.
One year later, during the 2006–07 season, Freije was signed by the Atlanta Hawks and appeared in 19 games and averaged 2.1 points per game. His best day as a Hawk was on December 10, 2006, when he shot 4-5 from the field en route to an 8-point, 5-rebound day against the Sacramento Kings. At the present time, Freije has appeared in 42 games, with career averages of 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Freije played for the Milwaukee Bucks summer league team in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his first game with the team, he finished second on the team in scoring with 11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-4 from three point range) in an 88-79 loss to the Memphis Grizzlieshttp://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=080712-Recap3. Freije was absolutely blistering throughout the NBA's Summer League in Vegas, as he shot 58.6% from the field and 60% from three-point range, en route to averaging 11.8 points per game for the Bucks, who finished 4–1 during Vegas Summer League play. Freije finished second on the team in scoring and blocked shots per game and first in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage in only 21.5 minutes per game.
In the months leading up to his 2009 Summer League play with the Portland Trail Blazers, Freije was playing for Criollos de Caguas
of the BSN.
After the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship Matt signed with Lebanese champions Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
.
Hebraica y Macabi
Asociación Hebraica y Macabi del Uruguay is a professional basketball team based in Montevideo, playing at the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball, basketball league of Uruguay. Founded on 1944, it participated in most of the basketball tourneys in Uruguay. During the first cycle, the name used by the...
in Uruguay. Freije attended Shawnee Mission West High School
Shawnee Mission West High School
Shawnee Mission West High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Overland Park, Kansas, USA, serving students in grades 9-12. Shawnee Mission West is one of several public high schools located within Shawnee Mission, KS. The official school colors are black and gold and the...
in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
before attending Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
where he was an All-SEC performer. He was selected 53rd overall in the 2004 NBA Draft
2004 NBA Draft
The 2004 NBA Draft was held on June 24, 2004 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm . In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible...
by the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
, was then released and later played for the New Orleans Hornets. He played 19 games for the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
during the 2006-07 season
2006-07 NBA season
The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on October 31, 2006 and ran through April 18, 2007. The league fielded 30 teams, each playing an 82 game regular season schedule. The top eight seeds from each conference reached the NBA...
but was waived in December 2006 to clear a roster spot for Slava Medvedenko
Slava Medvedenko
Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko is a Ukrainian former professional basketball player, who last played with the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association. His position was power forward....
.
Vanderbilt University
Freije played for the Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
Commodores men's basketball team from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 he was named First Team All-SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
and led the Commodores to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. He left Vanderbilt as the leading scorer in school history, having surpassed Phil Cox in 2004. His record was broken in 2008 by Shan Foster
Shan Foster
Shan Donte Foster is an American professional basketball player. Foster played shooting guard for the Commodores college basketball team at Vanderbilt University. He is the school's all-time leader in both points and three-point baskets made, and is also among the Southeastern Conference's...
.
Freije's tremendous career as a Commodore was highlighted by his senior year campaign, where he led Vanderbilt to a 23-10 record and a trip to the 2004 NCAA Tournament as a 6 seed. During the regular season, Freije had four thirty-point games, 32 vs. Indiana on Nov. 24th, 31 vs. Tennessee Tech on Dec. 13th, 32 vs. Alabama on Feb. 18th, and 31 vs. North Carolina State on Mar. 21st. The Commodores started the season 12-0 until losing at Kentucky on Jan. 10th. Vanderbilt, however, got its revenge three weeks later at home with a 66-60 victory over the #5 ranked Wildcats at a rocking Memorial Gymnasium in a game where Freije scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds.
Vanderbilt would subsequently advance to the NCAA Tournament, and following a first round win over Western Michigan, Freije led the Commodores to the Sweet Sixteen following a stunning comeback victory over the 3 seed North Carolina State Wolfpack, a game where the Commodores rallied from an eleven-point deficit in the final 3:45 of the game http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/ncaa/specials/ncaa_tourney/2004/03/21/bc.bkc.ncaa.vanderbilt.nc.ap/index.html. Freije scored 31 points during the victory, including 11 during the final 3:28 of the game. During his 1st team All-SEC senior season, he posted averages of 18.4 ppg along with 5.4 rpg and was the established leader for a motivated Commodore team coming off an 11-19 season the year before.
Professional career
After being drafted 53rd and subsequently released by the Miami Heat before the start of the season, Freije latched on with the New Orleans Hornets during the 2004–05 season, where he appeared in 23 games—11 of which he started. He averaged 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds before being released later in the season. On December 26, 2004, Freije set his career high for both points and rebounds by registering 12 points and 11 rebounds in a 100–91 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.One year later, during the 2006–07 season, Freije was signed by the Atlanta Hawks and appeared in 19 games and averaged 2.1 points per game. His best day as a Hawk was on December 10, 2006, when he shot 4-5 from the field en route to an 8-point, 5-rebound day against the Sacramento Kings. At the present time, Freije has appeared in 42 games, with career averages of 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
Freije played for the Milwaukee Bucks summer league team in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his first game with the team, he finished second on the team in scoring with 11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-4 from three point range) in an 88-79 loss to the Memphis Grizzlieshttp://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=080712-Recap3. Freije was absolutely blistering throughout the NBA's Summer League in Vegas, as he shot 58.6% from the field and 60% from three-point range, en route to averaging 11.8 points per game for the Bucks, who finished 4–1 during Vegas Summer League play. Freije finished second on the team in scoring and blocked shots per game and first in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage in only 21.5 minutes per game.
In the months leading up to his 2009 Summer League play with the Portland Trail Blazers, Freije was playing for Criollos de Caguas
Criollos de Caguas
The Criollos de Caguas are a baseball team in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of Caguas, they have won 15 domestic titles and three Caribbean World Series....
of the BSN.
After the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship Matt signed with Lebanese champions Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, also known as Riyadi Club and Sporting Club is a Lebanese Basketball club based in Raouché, Beirut where both men's and women's tournaments are held every year....
.