Jaden Freeman was voted Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week after putting up 27 points in a win over Carmel School for Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.

The sophomore is off to an even better start this season than he was last season. As a freshman, Freeman was active for the NSA boys’ basketball team. Now he is continuing to take the necessary steps to continue to refine his game, and it has shown through this early part of the season for NSA.

Over the holiday break, the Saints competed in a holiday tournament in which they played two games and went 1-1. In that second game, Freeman went for 27 points in a Saints overtime victory.

“I think I played well both games,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I played well on both sides of the ball, and I felt like I did that.”

NSA Coach Chris Fuhrmann said Freeman hardly came off of the court for NSA that weekend. Freeman likes the fact that his coaches and teammates have trust in him to go out there and produce. He always wants to put his best effort out on the court for his teammates, which has shown in the win-loss column.

The sophomore Saint was an All-Conference player last season and worked on a few things he thought could help his game for this season. One thing he did was play high school football for the first time back in the fall. He stepped on the field for the first time and helped contribute to an NSA football season that saw them ranked No. 2 in the state poll. Freeman knew the aggressiveness required for football could transfer over to the basketball court, and it has so far.

“I am more aggressive now, and football helped me with that,” he said. “I felt like playing football could help improve my game, and I think it has.”

Freeman’s main goal this season is for he and his team to win every game they can. If possible, repeating on the All-Conference team and making an All-State appearance will also be welcomed by the sophomore, but the most important thing is the team achieving what it hopes it can.

“I just want to win with my team, and the stats will come with that,” he said. “I like to do whatever I can to help my team win.”

His family motivates him the most when he is out on the court. They push him harder every day to get better. Over the summer he worked on his handle and his jump shot. He watches a lot of NBA All-Star Paul George. Freeman and George have similar characteristics; both have all-around games and are able to play both ends of the floor from the forward position.

NSA and Freeman will be in action again Tuesday night when they go on the road to take on Walsingham Academy.