A Day in the Life: Amani Freeman

At 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, Amani Freeman was on a mission.

The Miami University women's basketball team was set to tip off a crucial Mid-American Conference home game against Northern Illinois in just over an hour, and Freeman, the RedHawks' 6-foot-2 starting post player, was nowhere near the court.

Instead, she was walking briskly behind assistant coach Tiffany Swoffard toward the coaches' offices on the concourse level to track down an 'Amplify Black History' T-shirt identical to the one she was already wearing. Amani Freeman Day in Life

Freeman, a senior from Avon, Ind., had designed the shirts for a second consecutive year for her team to wear during its February games, with this year's edition featuring three colors of text on the front and a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the back. However, she was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming demand for the special shirts (which far exceeded the initial supply!), with the sale proceeds earmarked for diversity/equity/inclusion-themed efforts through Miami Athletics.

"I am a Black woman attending a predominantly white institution," Freeman said that morning. "If I can come here in a different environment, where there's not a lot of people that look like me, and make an impact, that's going to change how people here view people that look like me everywhere else and for the rest of their lives.

"I have a great support system with my teammates, coaches, and friends on campus. Any initiative I start, they're all hands on deck and ready to help."

Indeed, dozens of people in Freeman's circle of influence had been offering to purchase shirts, with the latest request coming from none other than the visiting Huskies' coaching staff.

And so, Freeman was off to track down merchandise from her dwindling inventory and deliver it to the NIU bench.

There is far more to Amani Freeman's life than basketball.

- - -

Freeman's day started approximately eight and a half hours earlier at King Library. The Academic All-District student-athlete had homework to complete for her online classes, and the back corner of the library provided a quiet place to knock out some assignments.

With an iced lemon bar and Berry Blast juice in front of her, Freeman began to peruse the survey she and a partner had written about e-cigarettes for her Public Health Planning and Execution course.

Freeman is simultaneously working toward a Bachelor's degree in Public Health while also progressing toward a Master's in Health Promotion and Education. Her potential thesis in the latter would likely be related to the topic at hand, assessing effects of nicotine on pulmonary health. The research on the screen listed how many millions of adolescents currently use tobacco products or e-cigarettes, a staggering number.

The next module Freeman clicked on was part of her Public Health Disparities course. Over the following 30 minutes, she typed answers to question prompts about the struggles some Black people in inner-city Chicago might face, including lower quality of food, ability to pick up medicine, insurance coverage, language/communication/cultural barriers, geographic location, education and socioeconomic status.

"I like the application of my studies to the real world, especially in the Master's classes," Freeman said.

She had started out at Miami as a Kinesiology, Nutrition and Health (KNH) major, which was more focused on topics like anatomy and motor movements, before specializing in the Public Health track. It didn't take long for Freeman to realize she was most interested in social work around health, especially as it relates to different populations. The COVID pandemic helped solidify that decision for the then-freshman.

"I was transitioning into public health during the outbreak while all these things were happening," Freeman remembered. "I was just thinking, 'There's so much opportunity here, and we need it.'

"I'm thinking about the future and that I want to be a public health professional one day, so I got a contact tracing job and started interning at different health departments. The more I got into the content, I just decided I liked it.

"The hardest part was telling sick people that they couldn't be around their families. But I really liked working with different populations, I liked the work I was doing, and I liked that we were protecting the community and preventing the spread even further."

- - -

Later that morning, Freeman was the first Miami player on the court at Millett Hall for the team's 11:45 a.m. shootaround. After an upbeat 'Happy Gameday!' greeting, Freeman grabbed a pair of basketballs and began to work on layups and finishes around the rim.

Amani Freeman Day in Life

She appeared to focus intentionally on getting just the right touch off the glass on each shot during her solo drills, which makes sense for a player shooting nearly 60% from the floor for the season. Freeman's field goal percentage would rank her first in the MAC and among the top 20 players in the nation if she had enough shot attempts to qualify for that particular statistic leaderboard.

Before long, teammates and coaches began to drift into the gym. Swoffard put a group of RedHawks through a 10-minute workout designed to help the Miami bigs split defenders and finish through contact. A wing passer threw an entry pass to the block, where a player and manager combined to bother the would-be shooter.

"What was THAT move?", one defender exclaimed after Freeman made a particularly acrobatic finish.

When Freeman wasn't the player scoring, she was encouraging her teammates, letting out an exuberant scream after Sierra Morrow converted an opportunity inside.

Eventually, the process transitioned to working on pick-and-roll plays. Freeman took a bounce pass from Ivy Wolf and laid it in smoothly in stride, causing Wolf to flex both arms in celebration.

Freeman said later that she's learned how to maximize her opportunities diving to the rim after setting on-ball screens. "It's learning and reading off the guards," she explained. "Who am I setting a ball screen for and what do they like to do? I know that when Ivy and Peyton [Scott] come off the screen, they're going to look for me high or low, so my hands have to be ready.

"Knowing who I'm setting the screen for has upped my production, because I know when they're going to pass me the ball, and I'm getting my hands on the ball a lot more…

"I make it a point to spend five to 10 minutes every day finishing, so my field goal percentage being high is very intentional. It's something I focus on: As soon as I catch the ball, where am I looking on the backboard? They're going to bring double-teams; they're going to be pushing me all over the place. So how soon can I get my eyes up to finish?"

At Swoffard's request, Morrow and Katey Richason began to adjust to 'pick and pop' plays as the drill wore on, floating wide to finish with a three-point attempt instead of an inside layup. Freeman, who has attempted exactly as many shots outside the arc over the last four years for Miami as you or I have (zero!), didn't move. She continued to fine-tune her strength: Putting the ball in the bucket at an impressive clip from short range.

"I'm just really proud of 'Mani," head coach DeUnna Hendrix said. "She's putting the work in.

"Her and Swof [Swoffard] are going at it, putting a lot of hours in right now, and it's starting to pay off for her.

"She didn't play much for the first two years, so even though she's a senior, she really hadn't had a whole lot of court time...she's starting to understand now how all the pieces go together."

- - -

The RedHawks' shootaround lasted approximately an hour, with plenty of time to walk through and implement key parts of the scouting report at both ends of the floor. Hendrix and her staff were constantly teaching, reminding and correcting, with information flowing at a rapid-fired pace but always punctuated with time to process and respond.

"Are we good with that?", Hendrix would immediately ask after rattling off a set of instructions or breakdown of a particular play.

Different Miami lineups would have the chance to try out set plays, first at walking speed and then 'at pace', with reserve players or managers defending. The RedHawks' coaches kept encouraging their playmakers to drive the ball strong to the rim off the dribble. "Make them guard you," was a constant refrain, with coaches mentioning which NIU players to try and specifically isolate, attack, or attempt to get into foul trouble.

Every quick-hitting play had a second, third or fourth option. If the ballhandler couldn't get to the rim on the first action, there was always a skip pass to throw, another screen to set, or a trailing teammate to pitch to.

One particular look called for Freeman to set consecutive screens in different directions. The resulting footwork was awkward at first, but Swoffard immediately came over to demonstrate what the coaches were looking for. With no margin for error in the stretch run of the conference season, even the smallest of details needed to be absolutely perfect. Amani Freeman

During the practice, Freeman was active not only in setting picks, but also helping defend them. She would call out instructions to the on-ball defenders to help them stay in the play and not get picked off, highlighting which side the screen was coming from (right or left) as well as which direction (above or below) the defender should fight around it.

To Wolf on one possession: "RIGHT! OVER! RIGHT! OVER!"'

To Scott on the next: "RESCREEN, P! RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT!"

After one defensive stop, Freeman playfully (but not gently!) shoved Scott to celebrate. There was a lot of crucial work happening, but there were also plenty of smiles to go around.

What else would you expect from a 'Happy Gameday?'

- - -

Once the session concluded with the team yelling 'US!' as they broke the final huddle, it was down to important business: A halfcourt shooting contest.

Richason prevailed as the first player to convert from the center line.

From there, Freeman lingered in the gym, going back to the foul line to get some additional practice in before finally heading home for some more homework and a walk with her dog Uzii.

The afternoon seemed to drag on as tip time crept nearer.

3:10 p.m. – Team meal (Mexican food in the northeast corner of Millett Hall)

5:10 p.m. – Training room (Light music, heating pad, stretches, massage, and quiet focus)

5:30 p.m. – On the floor for an up-tempo pregame workout

5:32 p.m. – Highlight-reel scoop move that may or may not have been a travel ("Okay, fancy pants!", shouted Swoffard.)

5:40 p.m. – Exchanging pleasantries with members of the broadcast crew near press row

5:44 p.m. – Series of six-foot baseline jumpers

5:45 p.m. – Hit in the head by an errant basketball

6:00 p.m. – Working muscles over with a foam roller at the edge of the court

With exactly 45 minutes remaining on the scoreboard clock countdown, the RedHawks lined up to jog to halfcourt and back ahead of beginning pregame drills in earnest. They huddled with strength coach James Carsey and started their scripted warmup routine. There were plenty of high fives and a lot of clapping, especially from Freeman, one of the team's captains.

Freeman knew the task in front of her would be critical to Miami's chances of winning: Slow down NIU's 6-foot-1 star A'Jah Davis. Davis came to Oxford looking for her 50th career double-double after putting up 13 points and 10 rebounds in the teams' previous meeting five weeks earlier.

"It's going to be a battle of the boards and it's going to be a battle in the paint," Freeman said that morning. "She's putting up great numbers – she grabbed 15 boards in her last game – so my goal is to limit her impact, hopefully get her out of the game, and definitely keep her off the glass.

"I want to keep Davis around seven or eight rebounds," Freeman continued. "She's a good player, and I can't take away all of her boards. But if she can stay around seven to eight and not grab 10-plus, we're in good shape."

- - -

"Breathe in. And out."

Inside the locker room, the Miami players received final instructions on their individual and collective assignments from the coaching staff. Lindsay Hieronymus reminded each player in the starting lineup who they would be guarding and what tendencies that opponent had. Hieronymus called on different RedHawks to quickly read elements of the scouting report out loud so the concepts were fresh in everyone's mind. After each player's information was summarized, the team clapped once in unison.

"Two claps for Linds," Hendrix said.

"Breathe in. And out."

(Many of Miami's huddles and meetings include a few moments set aside to breathe deeply and get mentally focused. Even in the hustle and bustle of pregame prep, this last session before the RedHawks took the floor was no different.)

Then it was Hailey Yohn's turn to give big-picture instruction about the defensive game plan. Hendrix followed with offensive keys, including making sure everyone knew not only what play Miami planned to run first, but what they hoped to accomplish with that particular call.

"Let's work," Hendrix concluded.

- - -

"And a six-foot-two senior forward from Avon, Indiana…number 34, Amani Freeman!"

Freeman was the final player introduced during the starting lineups, but one of the first players to get on the scoresheet. She converted a pair of free throws just over a minute into the game to help Miami take an early 5-0 lead.

The RedHawks scored the first seven points of the game and couldn't have scripted a better beginning to the contest. When Freeman subbed out halfway through the period, Miami was on top 14-7.

"Great movement of the ball," Carsey said as the team gathered to start the media timeout.

Wolf was standing apart from the group talking to Swoffard, while the other coaches were discussing personnel.

Amani Freeman vs. NIU

"Amani, get Katey." Freeman jogged over to the scorer's table to check in and moved from where she was standing in the back row of the huddle to sit on one of the five stools at the edge of the court.

Hendrix raised her voice to be heard over the pep band, reminding her group in the few seconds they had together to continue to contest perimeter jumpers and keep attacking downhill on offense.

The RedHawks took that to heart. Wolf followed a deep three-pointer with an aggressive drive and score to stretch Miami's lead to 20-9, and Maddi Cluse pushed the ball up the floor on the next trip to expand the margin even further. The Red and White capped a strong first period with a bank shot by Scott in the closing seconds to manufacture a 26-15 lead after 10 minutes.

Miami had forced Davis into a travel and air ball in the first quarter, but NIU's center also had produced six points inside.

"When 25 kicks it back out, she wants to reseal and push you deeper and deeper," Hendrix said in the huddle between quarters. "Hold your ground!"

- - -

Freeman did a little bit of everything in the second quarter. She set a screen to free Wolf for a triple that made it 31-15. She battled for rebounds. She picked up a foul. She defended inside, forcing an NIU travel. At one point, she nearly tripped over a cheerleader.

What she didn't do much is score. But with Scott (17 points), Cluse (12), and Wolf (11) already in double figures by intermission, that didn't bother her at all.

"I don't get discouraged…as long as we're scoring, I don't really care who scores the ball," she shrugged after the game. "When I'm not scoring, I just try to think of other ways to be impactful.

"If I'm on the big girl and I can't get my hands on the ball, can I get a tip on it? Can I get it to a guard? Can I keep her from getting the ball? Things like that.

"There are so many ways to be effective even when you're not scoring."

When the halftime buzzer sounded, Davis had 10 points and five rebounds to Freeman's two and one, but Miami continued to maintain a solid lead at 45-36 thanks to 60% shooting from the floor.

- - -

Davis picked up where she left off, scoring on the first trip of the third quarter. 45-38.

Freeman came right back with a lay-in of her own after a beautiful spin move and bounce pass delivery from Wolf. 47-38. Amani Freeman

With 7:23 to play in the third quarter, Freeman picked up her second foul of the game.

And then, 13 seconds later, she was whistled for her third.

Freeman would watch the next seven-plus minutes of the contest from the bench. Since she wasn't able to impact the game from the floor, she did her best to make her presence felt in the huddle.

"Fight over screens!", she yelled during one timeout as Yohn scribbled the latest defensive assignments on her whiteboard nearby.

"I would say a lot of our confidence comes from our huddles," Freeman explained later. "On any dead balls, we try to hurry up and get to our huddle. It's just a quick check-in to get everyone's mind back on the same page: What are we doing? We correct ourselves and get back out there.

"If our huddles are good, that means our mindsets are good.

"And if our mindsets are good…we're unbeatable."

- - -

Davis finished the third quarter with points on each of NIU's final two possessions, but Scott stole momentum back for the home team by drilling a baseline pull-up jumper that left her sitting on the Millett Hall floor as time expired.

Miami would take a 64-57 lead into one of the most important quarters of its season.

Freeman was back in the game as the fourth quarter got underway. The RedHawks successfully executed a play Hendrix had drawn up moments earlier, with Freeman immediately setting a screen to free Cluse for a hoop that gave the sophomore 16 points and 13 rebounds.

With a nine-point lead and eight minutes remaining, Wolf made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game to spark a game-sealing run. Just as they had rehearsed eight hours earlier at the opposite end of the arena ['RIGHT! OVER! RIGHT OVER!'], Wolf fought over a screen, fought through a second screen, and then drew an offensive foul on NIU's Chelby Koker.

Miami carried that momentum forward, even after Freeman had to head back to the bench with her fourth foul at the 6:29 mark. Wolf buried a pair of free throws. Morrow scored on a pick-and-roll. Cluse got a steal and threw a tough pass ahead to Scott for a highlight-reel finish.

At the media timeout, there were a few more smiles on the coaches' faces than at any point so far in the game, as the RedHawks had stretched the lead to 74-60. Hendrix challenged her team to continue to get out on shooters. "If 25's down there by herself, so be it," she said. "And finish with a box out!"

Amani Freeman

Miami continued to expand its cushion down the stretch, as Wolf hit a three-pointer from right in front of the bench that left Freeman dancing on the sideline. Scott followed with a triple of her own to make it 82-64.

And Freeman put the game away with an old-fashioned three-point play of her own at the 2:20 mark, capping a 17-5 spurt.

Cluse and Freeman checked out for the final time with two minutes remaining, earning a nice ovation from the home crowd. "I'm so tired, I've got to stand up," Cluse laughed. "That's crazy!"

Once the final minutes had ticked off the clock, the scoreboard read Miami 88, NIU 67 and the RedHawks had secured their biggest conference victory of the year.

After Hendrix did her postgame interview with ESPN+, the team gathered for one more huddle.

With Cluse on her left and Scott on her right, Freeman sang along to the university fight song.

"Love and honor to Miami…"

The players and coaches quickly talked about some of the highlights of the game and things they'd done exceptionally well, such as limiting the Huskies' amount of uncontested three-point attempts. They dedicated the win to Jessie Dai, who was celebrating her birthday that day. And then it was off to greet friends and family and enjoy the victory.

Before Freeman headed up the tunnel, she paused to reflect on the game as a whole and the battle with Davis in particular. D4123 Womens basketball vs Central Mich

"It was tough inside," she admitted after totaling seven points and two rebounds in 25 minutes. "As I expected…but I feel like my teammates did a great job coming through for us."

Miami shot 60% for the game and held the visitors to 40%. "We were being the aggressors offensively," Freeman said. "We knew who we wanted to attack and what actions we were going to use to go at those specific people.

"I think everyone was locked into the game plan and we were just ready to go."

Her biggest smile of the day came as she realized how many rebounds Davis, the walking double-double, had produced.

The answer: Seven.

"Hey! That was the goal!" Freeman exulted.

Cluse was in a celebratory mood as well as she walked past Freeman to head to the locker room.

"Best post in the MAC!", Cluse said, nodding at Freeman. "Write that in your story!"

- - -

Upstairs in the team's press conference room, Hendrix was pleased with Miami's offensive performance, especially the season-high 52 points in the paint. "We knew we were a tough matchup for them," Hendrix said. "It's just getting our players to understand the ball needs to move: It's not YOUR best shot, it's OUR best shot. And that's what we did.

"Our efficiency was probably the most impressive. We haven't shot 11-for-16, 8-for-13, 8-for-12. We haven't seen numbers like that; most times we're taking 18 shots to get what we want.

"We just have to be cleaner, and we were tonight."

Amani Freeman

Both Freeman and Hendrix knew there would only be one more regular-season home game left in 2022-23, with Senior Day slated for March 4 against Ball State. Emotions were sure to be high that afternoon, with the RedHawks not only set to honor an impactful senior class but also trying to solidify the program's first trip to the MAC postseason tournament since 2019.

"It's a little bittersweet," Freeman said of the upcoming Senior Day festivities. "I just want to put it all out there and make myself proud."

"I pulled them in a month ago, our seniors and our staff, and basically said, 'I can't get the vision out of my head of when we do win this thing. I'm grabbing Amani Freeman and we're crying. I'm grabbing Peyton Scott and we're crying. Because there's so much that we've gone through,'" said Hendrix.

"What does Amani Freeman mean to our program? I mean, she's the foundation.

"We have a lot of work to still do, but we are progressing. We're getting bigger, and those seniors are the foundation for that. So when we do what we know we're going to do, their names are going to be on a lot of it."

Find more Front Row Features at MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.

Get your tickets for Saturday's regular-season finale to come honor Freeman and the rest of the Miami Women's Basketball senior class as the RedHawks look to secure a berth in the MAC tournament. Tip time against Ball State is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 4 at Millett Hall.

Players Mentioned

Maddi Cluse

Jessie Dai

Amani Freeman

Sierra Morrow

Katey Richason

Peyton Scott

Ivy Wolf

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