Freeland has learned his lessons well

No matter how high Tony Freeland jumps or how powerfully he rebounds, the 6-foot-6 All-City forward from Los Angeles Fremont has learned that a college basketball scholarship won’t be obtained unless he shows a real commitment in the classroom.

Freeland can thank former Fremont standout Laron Armstead, a friend, for helping him recognize his dual responsibilities before it was too late.

It was Armstead’s insistence last year that Freeland come with him to study hall and tutoring sessions that set the stage for him to sign a letter of intent with DePaul last November.

“He made me go,” Freeland said. “He’d drag me to study hall.”

Armstead, now a freshman starter at Loyola Marymount, refused to let Freeland lose focus on the future.

“During lunch or nutrition, I’d have him sit down and study,” he said. “I had to push him.”

This season, Freeland has become a superior player, averaging 24.3 points for the Pathfinders (11-5). Against Reseda Cleveland, he scored 30 points and had 20 rebounds. Against Manual Arts, he scored 30 points while making 12 of 13 shots.

“I think he’s definitely one of the top five players in the City,” Coach Sam Sullivan said. “I looked at DePaul against UCLA and thought he could start right now.”

He’s going to get a chance next season because he found a way not to waste the skills and talent he gained in basketball by taking care of his academic obligations.

And he won’t forget the contributions of a true friend, Armstead, who set the example of how important it is to fulfill his academic requirements.

“I’m more than happy for him,” Armstead said. “He was my young protege.”

It’s a lesson that needs to be taught to every high school athlete who aspires to earn a college scholarship.

And everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend like Armstead.

For those who think that it’s a little too early for high school freshmen to be making their college choices, somebody had better have a talk with college softball coaches.

“It’s insane,” Santa Ana Mater Dei softball Coach Doug Myers said of the trend of college recruiters offering scholarships to players before they have played a high school game.

Last year, freshman catcher Amber Freeman of Mater Dei committed to Arizona State. Sophomore pitcher Miranda Tamayo of Mater Dei has committed to Indiana. UCLA got a commitment from a freshman pitcher in Northern California.

Now two more elite freshmen are the focus of college recruiters: pitcher Brianne Matthews of Mater Dei and pitcher Nancy Bowling of Simi Valley Royal.

College recruiters are seeing these players as eighth-graders in summer club ball, and everyone seems worried about losing out on a top prospect, so the offers are flooding in.

Mathews is supposed to be the best 14-year-old pitching prospect in the state, but so far, she’s holding off on making a college commitment. Good for her. If she’s as good as everyone says, she’ll have plenty of time to pick a college and maybe enjoy her high school experience too.

Kelly Hilinski, a 14-year-old eighth-grader who lives in Claremont and is a 6-foot-4 three-sport standout, is headed to Washington as an invited guest to watch the Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama as part of the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference.

Hilinski is a straight-A student and promising quarterback, but no matter what he accomplishes in sports over the next 10 years, his experience next week should be historic, unforgettable and the adventure of a lifetime.

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eric.sondheimer@latimes.com