It was as good of an ending as the NC State seniors could have asked for, as the Pack finished up a surprising 11-7 conference campaign Saturday with a 76-69 win over Louisville.
Redshirt senior Lennard Freeman, senior Abdul-Malik Abu and graduate transfers Sam Hunt and Allerik Freeman were honored before the game, their final appearance in PNC Arena. The four combined to score 26 points, while collecting 10 rebounds in their farewell outing in Raleigh.
In a season that no one saw coming, the Pack rallied around first-year head coach Kevin Keatts to win more conference games than the previous two seasons combined. While the seniors, apart from Al Freeman, weren’t necessarily the marquee scorers for the Pack, their contributions both this year and during their careers are substantial.
“When you think about Malik and you think about Lennard, those are two guys that welcomed me into their program,” Keatts said. “It was their program before I took over as head coach. I’m proud of those guys. Both of those guys have sacrificed their game a little bit for the team and certainly us winning 21 games and 11 conference games means a lot to those guys.”
Lennard Freeman and Abu, the more traditional seniors, have both been with the Wolfpack since they were freshmen, and were both a part of the 2015 NC State team that upset one-seed Villanova and made a run to the Sweet 16.
“I’m just appreciative that I’ve had this opportunity,” Abu said. “It’s just wow. I can’t believe it. Where I started everything, my college career. I would have never imagined that I would have took it this far. I’m just grateful. That’s my one feeling. Just grateful to be here.”
That 71-68 upset of Villanova wouldn’t have been possible without the duo, as each posted a double-double in the game, combining for 24 points and 24 rebounds. It’s the most memorable tournament win for the Pack in a long time, and the role that Abu and Lennard Freeman played in it shouldn’t be understated.
The two years that followed were far less kind to Lennard Freeman and Abu, but the two stayed with the program even after NC State parted ways with the man that recruited them, Mark Gottfried. Abu was part of back-to-back NC State teams that struggled to find their identity from 2015-17, and after flirting with entering the NBA Draft in 2017 decided to return for one final year under Keatts.
“At the end of the day, the guys that decided to stay in this program have battled and maken NC State something that we’re proud of,” Keatts said. “We want to punch the clock every time we play. We may not be the most talented team, but we play hard. I give a lot of credit because it would have been easy for those guys to bolt.
Lennard Freeman missed the entirety of what should have been his senior season in 2016-17 with a foot injury, taking a redshirt year to give him one more season of eligibility. He used that season to come back to the Wolfpack for a victory lap, and flourished early in the year. He tallied a career-high 23 points in a November matchup against Presbyterian.
“I can’t really describe it,” Lennard Freeman said. “I’m a little sad, a little happy for all the memories. I was sad at the same time, knowing that this was my last time. I’m just happy we’ve won.”
Hunt and Al Freeman were brought to Raleigh by Keatts as graduate transfers, part of the first-year head coach’s effort to rebuild a roster that lost five regulars after Gottfried and the Pack parted ways.
“When you think about Al Freeman and Sam Hunt, I want to thank those guys because those guys trusted me before I coached one game here,” Keatts said. “We didn’t know who we would have. We lost a lot of pieces from last year.”
Al Freeman, who left a scandal-ridden Baylor team to join the Pack, proved to be the addition that the Wolfpack needed to stay afloat early in the year and drive some of State’s unexpected victories in ACC play. Freeman led the Wolfpack with 15.2 points per game this year coming into Saturday’s finale, but it will be his performance on the road against UNC-Chapel Hill that will be remembered.
“It was good to get a win on senior night,” Al Freeman said. “This year I’ve just felt a lot of love. It was a good season.”
In the Pack’s upset of the Tar Heels, Al Freeman could not be stopped. He scored 29 points on 7-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, becoming the first player to ever shoot better than 5 for 5 from 3-point range against the Heels.
Hunt’s contributions this year have been more subtle, but the graduate transfer from N.C. A&T has caught fire late in the season and has found his stroke. Hunt went 4 for 4 from 3-point range in back-to-back Wolfpack wins, against Boston College and Florida State. He entered Saturday shooting .414 from deep on the season, and has provided a shooting spark off the bench for the Pack at times.
“It’s been the biggest thing, coming here from A&T,” Hunt said. “Like I tell everybody, it’s been a dream come true. It’s been an amazing journey so far.”
While the seniors may be done at PNC, they certainly aren’t done. NC State will travel to Brooklyn next week for the ACC Tournament, with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 likely to follow. This team has reached unimaginable highs this year, and the four outgoing seniors are part of the reason.
