Gaston Freeman: classy gentleman

It was sad to hear of the death of Gaston Freeman, the former boys basketball coach at Maine West. Freeman, 85, died Monday after contracting pneumonia.

Nearly nine years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours in the back of a car listening to so many of Freeman’s stories about basketball, the sport he loved. We were passengers on a guys-day-out road trip to U of I to see a women’s basketball game with Maine West girls basketball coach Derril Kipp and Sun-Times preps boss Steve Tucker.

It was the first time I met Freeman, but the trip was always memorable because of Freeman. Gaston supported girls basketball and was a regular at the Maine West Tip-off Classic around Thanksgiving and always had a chair available underneath the baseline. Every other time I would see Freeman, he always remember my name and asked about my family.

Gaston will be missed.