After Courvoisier McCauley announced he was transferring to DePaul on April 22, the Blue Demons have now secured a second player via the transfer portal in a matter of nine days. On Friday, Valparaiso transfer Javon Freeman-Liberty announced he was coming back home to play for DePaul.

Before Freeman-Liberty entered the transfer portal, he tested the NBA Draft but pulled his name out of the draft on April 28 and decided to leave Valparaiso.

Freeman-Liberty grew up in Chicago and played high school basketball at Whitney Young where he finished fifth in voting for Illinois Mr. Basketball after his senior year. The 6-foot-3 guard led Whitney Young to the Illinois class 4A state championship in 2017 and a second straight championship appearance the following year. 

As a freshman at Valparaiso, he started all 33 games and was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman and All-Defense teams. While playing 31.2 minutes per game, Freeman-Liberty averaged 11 points, 4.3 rebounds, two assists and 1.8 steals. 

During the 2019-2020 season, Freeman-Liberty’s points skyrocketed to 19 per game, while also averaging 6.1 rebounds. The sophomore ranked 12th in the country in total steals (74), 15th in steals per game (2.24) and 18th in total field goals made (227). After leading his team to a 19-16 record, Freeman-Liberty was named to the MVC All-First and All-Defensive teams, while also landing on the Most-Improved team. 

https://twitter.com/AintuJavon/status/1256297358566002689

When Freeman-Liberty announced he was leaving Valparaiso, he tweeted that he was dealing with a personal issue and was trying to come closer to home to be with his grandmother. While the one-time transfer rule is not expected to go into effect before the 2020-21 season, Freeman-Liberty can apply for a hardship waiver and if he receives the waiver, he will be eligible to play right away. DePaul junior guard Charlie Moore received the same waiver before the start of the 2019-2020 season when he transferred from Kansas. 

If Freeman-Liberty is able to play next season, he would be the perfect player to slot in at the shooting guard position after Jalen Coleman-Lands entered the transfer portal. While Freeman-Liberty is not the shooter that Coleman-Lands was, he does help bolster the Blue Demons’ defense and adds an extra degree of athleticism in the backcourt.

With the addition of McCauley and Freeman-Liberty via the transfer portal, head coach Dave Leitao still has three open scholarship spots for next season. The Blue Demons also have Kobe Elvis coming in from high school for the 2020-21 season.