March 28, 2007

AMHERST, Mass. - UMass senior bigmen Rashaun Freeman and Stephane Lasme will be playing in the 55th annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament held from April 4-7 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The P.I.T. is the only tournament for college seniors to participate in and be evaluated by the National Basketball Association prior to the NBA's pre-draft camp in Orlando. All games held in the gymnasium of Portsmouth's Churchland High School

The P.I.T. is the nation's oldest amateur basketball tournament. It is recognized by NBA and European scouts as the premier showcase for future professional players. Hundreds of NBA players have taken part in the P.I.T. following their college careers including the likes of Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Ben Wallace, Dave Cowens and Rick Barry.

Freeman and Lasme are UMass' first representatives since Charlton Clarke played in the 1999 event.

Freeman comes off his third All-Atlantic 10 First-Team Selection as he led UMass in scoring for the fourth year in a row with a 14.7 average. He averaged 8.3 rebounds, third in the A-10 and shot 60.9 from the floor, 13th-best in the NCAA. Freeman finished his career as the fourth all-time leading scorer at UMass with 1,744 and third all-time leading rebounder with 998.

Lasme, who was just named an AP Honorable Mention All-American, was also honored as the 2007 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Lasme finished second in the NCAA in blocks (5.1), 13th in field goal percentage (61.1) and 17th in rebounding (9.5).

Lasme, who averaged 13.5 points per game, tied an NCAA record for triple-doubles in a season with four. As he accomplished them vs. St. Francis on Nov. 22 (19 pts, 10 reb, 11 blocks); vs. George Washington on Jan. 10 (23 pts, 15 reb, 11 blocks); vs. Rhode Island (18 pts, 12 reb, 11 blk) on Feb. 8 and vs. La Salle on Feb. 28 (17 pts, 10 reb, 10 blocks). He joined Jason Kidd (Cal in 1994) and Michael Anderson (Drexel in 1986). He also finished tied for 19th all-time in NCAA history in career blocked shots with 399. That is also a UMass record.