By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Owen Freeman was searching for the right word, and when he found it, it made perfect sense.

Freeman, a 6-foot-10 freshman who has been playing like a veteran in Iowa’s frontcourt, was asked if maybe this brilliant start to his college career was a surprise to him.

“I think it just kind of comes with that confidence,” Freeman said after last Wednesday’s 103-78 win over North Florida at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “As my confidence grows, I kind of feel more comfortable out there and I know the things that I can do, and things I’ve worked on, things I’ve worked for.

“So I wouldn’t say I’ve surprised myself. I’m saying it’s just I’m just kind of stepping into my, like how good I can be…”

He paused while he thought for that perfect word.

“Potential,” Freeman said. “That’s the word for it.”

Potential, indeed.

Freeman is averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds, but there’s much more to his game than just the numbers. There is a confidence that has allowed him to be a perfect fit for the Hawkeyes.

Potential? Iowa coach Fran McCaffery saw it right away.

“Owen was somebody that when we recruited him, we figured he would be an impact player as a freshman,” McCaffery said. “He certainly has been that.

“He’s an athlete. He runs, he slides his feet, he jumps. But secondly, he trusts his own talent. He has confidence in himself. He came ready. So we’ve worked with him, but you don’t do what he’s doing as a young player.”

Freeman’s game was already apparent over the summer, when he averaged 10.3 points and 12.1 rebounds in the three games of Iowa’s European trip.

“I’ve had to adjust, for sure,” Freeman said. “I spent a lot of my time praying and reading the Bible, and that’s where I thought it really allowed me to feel comfortable and allowed me to kind of just be myself, which allowed me to take my game to the next level. So yeah, there was that adjustment period that I had for the summer, but it’s all starting to come a lot easier to me.”

Freeman has already been the Big Ten’s freshman of the week twice, and he’s come up with some plays that immediately become popular videos on social media.

Take Wednesday’s game, when he had three blocked shots on one North Florida possession.

Freeman had tried to pass the ball to Patrick McCaffery when North Florida’s Oscar Berry knocked the ball away, recovered it, then headed for what he thought would be an easy layup.

Except Freeman swatted it away.

“I turned the ball over, so I had to kind of make up for it,” said Freeman, although the turnover was credited to McCaffery.

North Florida’s Dorian James recovered the loose ball after the block and tried his own shot, which was blocked by Freeman. Then another shot, also blocked.

“I was kind of able to time James’ shots — I kind of grabbed the rim on the first one, but we won’t talk about that.,” Freeman said.

After the third block, Iowa’s Tony Perkins got the rebound and started a fast break that ended as Freeman was fouled going to the basket.

“I was pretty exhausted (after the third block),” Freeman said.

Freeman finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five blocks in the game on a night when he knew the Hawkeyes had a size advantage.

“I had that mindset when I learned about the scout,” Freeman said. “This is a game where I know that I can come in, play big minutes and do my work early. Obviously, they have great players. They don’t have the size that we do. So I knew that our bigs were gonna have that advantage. And I wanted to take advantage of that advantage.”

Fran McCaffery has used different rotation combinations throughout the early part of the season, and one of those has been pairing Freeman with fifth-year senior forward Ben Krikke. That, too, has been an adjustment for Freeman.

“It’s something that I’ve never played with until I’ve got here,” he said. “I’ve never played with another big on the court.”

McCaffery likes the dynamic of the pairing.

“It obviously improves our rebounding, with all due respect to Payton (Sandfort), who’s been rebounding really, really well, and Patrick, whose rebounding numbers are up,” McCaffery said. “It makes us a better rebounding team. They have pretty good chemistry. They’re both athletes. They both can play out on the floor and in the post, and make plays. And I think any time you have a situation where you have a young guy who can be out there with veteran guys, it’s helpful.”

Freeman will get his first Big Ten test on Monday at Purdue, when he’ll be facing a bulky Boilermaker frontcourt that includes 7-foot-4 national player of the year Zach Edey.

It’s a challenge Freeman wants. It’s all about potential.

“I’m looking forward to going to Mackey (Arena),” he said. “I want to surprise some people.”

Photo: Iowa’s Owen Freeman blocks a shot in last Wednesday’s game against North Florida. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)