The Ohio men’s basketball team has added Tommy Freeman and Joe Gricar to its coaching staff as graduate assistants, as announced by third-year head coach Saul Phillips on Thursday (Sept. 1).
“It’s great to have both these young men on board,” said Phillips. “Both are hard workers and are very serious about becoming coaches full-time someday.”
Freeman competed as a forward for the Bobcats from 2007-11, etching his place as one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the history of the Ohio men’s basketball program. Freeman ranks as the program’s all-time leader in career three-point field goal percentage (44.3 percent) and also ranks third in career three-point field goals made (259), fourth in career three-point field goal attempts (588), 30th in career points (1,071) and seventh in games played (133). Freeman shot 47.7 percent from beyond the arc in 2009-10, which ranked as the highest three-point shooting percentage in a single season in program history until freshman guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) shot 47.9 percent from beyond the arc in 2015-16. He made 93 three-point field goals in 2009-10, then topped his performance with 99 in 2010-11 for the second-most made treys in a single season in program history. His 227 three-point field goal attempts in 2010-11 are tied for the second-most in a single season in program history. Freeman helped guide the Bobcats to the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship field, where No. 14-seeded Ohio upset No. 3-seeded Georgetown, 97-83, in first-round action.
After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration from Ohio in 2011, Freeman played professionally for the Worcester Wolves (Great Britain), SAM Basket Massagno (Switzerland) and Glasgow Rocks (Great Britain). Freeman competed in the Ball Up Million Dollar Summer Challenge in 2015, where he guided his team to a national semifinalist finish after an undefeated regular season and an Indianapolis regional title. Individually, Freeman took home the three-point shootout crown at the Indianapolis regional.
Freeman’s coaching background consists of working camps at both Ohio and Xavier, serving as a women’s junior varsity assistant coach (2014) and a men’s varsity assistant coach at Alexander Local Schools (2015-16). The Muncie, Ind., native has also traveled throughout the country conducting basketball shooting instruction for Pro Shot.
“Tommy is obviously recognizable to a lot of our fans, and it’s always nice to extend the tradition of what’s gone on here,” said Phillips. “Nobody cares more about this program and being a Bobcat than Tommy.”
Gricar spent 2015-16 as the freshman head coach and varsity assistant coach at Franklin High School in Franklin, Wis. Prior to returning to his hometown to coach, Gricar served as a student manager for the LSU men’s basketball program from 2011-15, where he assisted the coaching staff in scouting reports, film exchange, video operations, recruiting, facility and gear management and travel duties. He also worked at the LSU Basketball Camp, assisting with camp operations, supervising camp staff, conducting scheduling and directing individual and group skill work stations. Gricar earned his Bachelor of Science in Sport Administration from LSU in 2015. Some of Gricar’s other coaching experiences include serving as a freshman assistant coach for Franklin’s baseball team, a U-16 head coach for Next Level Volleyball Club and a freshman head coach/varsity assistant coach for Franklin’s volleyball team.
“Joe comes to us a little different route, but his years working with LSU’s program and some of the connections we had back in Wisconsin make us feel pretty lucky to have him,” said Phillips.
Freeman and Gricar join Phillips’ coaching staff of third-year assistant coach Will Ryan, third-year assistant coach Jason Kemp, fifth-year assistant coach Aaron Fuss and third-year director of basketball operations Jared Swanson.
Ohio posted 23 victories in 2015-16 — including an 11-7 mark in conference play. The 2015-16 Ohio squad matched the 1998-99 team for the biggest turnaround in program history. The Bobcats improved by 13 wins under Phillips after posting just 10 victories in 2014-15. The 2015-16 Bobcats matched the 1982-83 team for the sixth-most wins in a single season in program history. After earning the No. 2 seed in the 2016 MAC Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com and a bye to Cleveland, Ohio defeated No. 7-seeded Northern Illinois, 79-62, on March 10 in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 3-seeded Buffalo in the semifinals the following day, 88-74. The Bobcats made their 22nd postseason appearance in program history and advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 College Basketball Invitational after beating Albany in overtime in the first round, 94-90, on March 16 and knocking off UNCG, 72-67, on March 21 in the quarterfinals. Ohio’s season ended two days later with a 77-72 defeat at the hands of Morehead State.
The Bobcats return 14 players from the 2015-16 squad, including Dartis, senior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior guard Drew Crabtree (Marysville, Ohio), redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio), senior forward Wadly Mompremier (Miami, Fla.), redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio), redshirt junior guard/forward Khari Harley (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.), junior forward Sam Frayer (Cincinnati, Ohio), junior guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.), sophomore guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.), sophomore guard James Gollon (Stevens Point, Wis.), sophomore forward Jaylin McDonald (Streetsboro, Ohio), sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) and redshirt freshman forward Ellis Dozier (Sandy Spring, Md.).
Campbell was named a 2015-16 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection, the 2016 MAC Player of the Year, a 2015-16 National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I First Team All-District 14 honoree and a 2016 First Team All-MAC pick. Simmons earned 2015-16 NABC Division I Second Team All-District 14 honors. The Second Team All-MAC selection’s 275 assists last year went down as the most in both program and MAC history. Dartis garnered All-MAC Freshman Team selection for his efforts.
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