Sitting out an entire season in any sport is never easy. It means a long road to recovery and, when you do return, getting back into the swing of things alongside and against players who have been playing for a year. It’s easy to feel out of practice.
For some, however, that long layoff serves to fuel them with an even greater desire to compete as hard as they can when they come back. For NC State men’s basketball redshirt senior forward Lennard Freeman, who sat out all last season due to his second leg surgery, that’s exactly what’s happened. Sitting out a year and watching his teammates play wasn’t easy, but Freeman is now ready to lay it all on the line going into his final season.
“It was tough,” Freeman said. “The main thing was just being patient. There wasn’t really anything I could do to speed it up but to just wait and not do anything. That was really the hard thing; fresh out of surgery, I couldn’t run or jump for a couple months. That’s just the hardest thing. You just sit there, and you feel yourself getting bigger, but you can’t do anything. You know if you go work on your game, it’s just going to hurt your body more.”
“That was the toughest part, but after that, once I got cleared to run and jump, after sitting out that long, and not being able to work on your game, just made me way more hungry, because you had a lot in the tank. Once I got that medical clear, I just started working hard right after that, and haven’t stopped.”
In addition to giving him a greater desire to push himself to bring the best he can for the Pack this year, the long layoff also provided Freeman with a greater appreciation for being able to wake up every morning and play the game he loves.
“Every day I wake up and I thank God for my health because I know that when I wasn’t playing basketball last year, I didn’t feel like myself,” Freeman said. “I know every day in practice, I’m excited to go to practice. At first, I was never like that. When you’re working that hard in practice, people don’t really like it. Every day I go to practice, I’m excited.
“Even when we have 7 o’clock workouts, I’m excited waking up. I get to practice, I get to run and jump, play basketball, do what I have loved to do since I was a child. It definitely made me more grateful.”
When Freeman gets back on the court for the first time since the 2016 ACC tournament, a lot of his surroundings will have changed. He’ll have a lot of new teammates, and a new bench boss as well, with Kevin Keatts replacing Mark Gottfried as the Pack’s head coach after last season.
For Keatts, heading into his first year looking to start a new era of Wolfpack basketball, he knows what he’s getting in Freeman, an energetic player who can provide elements the team was missing without him.
“He plays so hard,” Keatts said. “Going back to last year, I thought NC State as a team, we struggled to rebound the basketball. Lennard is a very good rebounder, he plays extremely hard, he’s probably in the best shape of his life and I think you guys will be able to see that once you have a chance to watch him play.”
Freeman, who averaged 4.7 points and five rebounds per game in 2015-16, knows his role on the team, bringing that energy and strong rebounding ability to the lineup on a nightly basis is something he strives for.
“I just try to bring energy and toughness,” Freeman said. “Everyday I’m still the same player. I go as hard as I can. My middle school used to tell me all the time to do the little things and the big things will come. I just try to do the things that people don’t really like doing. If any guy shoots, you’re going to see me crash the glass. It’s really just effort. I’m right there; I’m going to try to get as many offensive rebounds as I can. That’s my main thing is just bring toughness to the team.”
As the longest-tenured player on the Pack, Freeman knows he will be asked to bring leadership for a team with a lot of young pieces as well. That will be a new situation for him, but a challenge he’s more than ready to face.
“It’s cool, but I’m more of the lead by example type of guy, but a lot of people have been telling me, since you have the most experience on the team, you’re going to have to start being more vocal,” Freeman said. “It’s a new role for me, but I’m slowly starting, I’m waiting for practice to start to be more vocal. … Once practice starts and games start, I’ll gladly accept the leadership role and start to be more vocal and help lead the team.”
In its first year under Keatts, the Pack will look to rebound from two tough years and attempt to return to the NCAA tournament. If NC State is going to turn it around this season, Freeman leading the way will be a key factor.
