By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

This is the second season Fran McCaffery will actually be coaching Owen Freeman.

McCaffery’s advice to Freeman now, though, is the same advice the Iowa coach has been giving him since he was in high school.

“He was always telling me, ‘Shoot it. Shoot it,’” Freeman said, laughing at the memory. “It was my freshman year, sophomore year, whenever we started talking.”

Freeman was a 61.4 percent shooter for the Hawkeyes last season on his way to being the Big Ten’s freshman of the year. That’s fine, McCaffery thought, but he knows there can be more to Freeman’s offensive game.

That’s why McCaffery has been on him for a while now.

“I used to tell him, even when he was in high school,l to look for his shot more,” McCaffery said. “Flash to the high post, turn and face and shoot it, shoot the foul-line jumper. That sets up your shot-fake drive. Because he is a shot-fake drive, one-dribble dunk guy from there.”

It’s part of the evolution of every post player’s game. One-dimensional players still work, but players with more options can open defenses.

The fact that McCaffery has such confidence in Freeman makes the sophomore feel good.

“I mean, yeah, it’s kind of just basically what you hope for,” Freeman said. “I mean, for a coach like that, he’s the ultimate players coach, and for him to instill that confidence in me, telling me to shoot the ball, what else do you even need?”

Freeman said expanding his range was something that he had worked on during the offseason.

“Just being able to do that, and be more confident in it … you’re going to see a lot of that this year,” Freeman said.

“He really worked hard on his shot on his own time. He worked very closely with (former Iowa assistant) Kirk Speraw just on their own and then, of course, with our coaches as well,” McCaffery said. “He got it in this summer. You are seeing a dramatic difference because a lot of times it’s not necessarily form or technique. It’s confidence and knowing that your coach has the confidence in you to shoot the ball.”

How much of a step Freeman can take from his freshman to his sophomore year will go a long way to determining the Hawkeyes’ success this season. Iowa’s frontcourt should be deeper this season, which will take some pressure off Freeman, but he knows he will be the focal point of the Hawkeyes’ interior.

“The thing about Owen is he’s a special young guy in so many different ways, and he is incredibly talented,” McCaffery said. “He also recognizes that there’s room for growth and wants to get better.”

It’s why Freeman has found help from other sources with Iowa ties as well. He worked with former Hawkeye All-American Luka Garza and Garza’s father, Frank, during the summer.

“They gave me a lot of tidbits, things about the game,” Freeman said. “They’re just great guys, and obviously, that’s something to have them in my corner. I mean, it’s truly awesome.

“I’m not going to share the tidbits, kind of like our secret type of thing, but, yeah, no, just being able to hang out with them is a lot of fun.”

His teammates have seen the difference in Freeman’s game.

“His skill set has definitely improved,” senior Payton Sandfort said. “It’s a wider variety of a lot of things he can do, and he’s kind of learning how to implement that right now.”

Sandfort knows the pressure on Freeman this season.

“Obviously the expectations are there,” Sandfort said. “They can be really hard to deal with, especially, you know, with the age he’s at, but he’s handled it well. … I’m proud of him, proud of the way that he’s really grown up. And you know, I think he’s gonna have a phenomenal year.”

McCaffery agreed.

“You’ll see a guy with a more complete game this year and be even more dominant,” he said.

Freeman said he embraces the expectations.

“I’m really just enjoying everything, enjoying life,” he said. “Very blessed.”

Photo: Iowa’s Owen Freeman (32) works the ball inside against Illinois’ Coleman Hawkins (center)) and Quincy Guerrier during a game last season. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)