Joel Freeland

Joel Daniel Freeland (born 7 February 1987) is a British former professional basketball player who last played for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. Standing at 2.10 m (6 ft 10 1⁄2 in), he played at the power forward and center positions. He also represented the Great Britain national basketball team.\n', ' Freeland began his career as a youth player with the youth teams of Thames Valley Tigers/Guildford Heat, before joining the Solent Stars. Within a year, he was representing England’s Under-18 national team, and soon found himself in Spain, with the fourth division side Gran Canaria II. While playing in the lower level Spanish leagues, Freeland was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the 30th overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft, which was the highest rank for a British born player in the history of the draft. The Blazers encouraged Freeland to remain in Europe to learn his trade, and he subsequently signed with Gran Canaria, of the Spanish top-tier level Liga ACB in August 2006.\n', ' During the 2006–07 season, while playing with Gran Canaria, Freeland appeared in 16 games in the Liga ACB, and also made his debut in the European-wide 2nd-tier level ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup). Freeland continued to improve during the 2007–08 season, appearing in 28 games in the Liga ACB, and reaching the quarter-finals of the ULEB Cup. The 2008–09 season saw Freeland become one of Gran Canaria\'s best players, as he averaged 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, in 17.8 minutes per game in the Liga ACB.\n', '