Freeman Returns as a Leader for the Pack

604 days. That's how long NC State redshirt-senior forward Lennard Freeman went between games while recovering from multiple leg surgeries. After sitting out last season, the Washington, D.C. native took the court last week against Mars Hill in the Wolfpack's lone exhibition game of the 2017-18 campaign.

The 6'8", 265-pound forward crashed the boards in a dominant 109-66 exhibition win, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds for the Pack. Starting at the five for NC State, he shot 3-for-3 from the field and scored seven points in 19 minutes of action.

"It felt amazing," Freeman said of his return to PNC Arena. "Even though it was an exhibition, it felt like a real game out there. It was at PNC, we had a lot people there and everything. It just felt amazing being back out there."

Freeman's troubles with injury began towards the end of his sophomore season, when the Wolfpack was in the midst of a Sweet 16 run in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

"The end of my sophomore year, around March, I started feeling a little sharp pain in my shin," Freeman said. "I thought it was just something small, so I decided to play through it. The season was almost over, so I just finished out the season."

Playing through the pain, Freeman started the final 11 games in his second year with the Pack. His best game of the season came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, when NC State knocked off No. 1 seed Villanova. Freeman recorded his third career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as the eighth-seeded Wolfpack downed the Wildcats, 71-68.

Following the 2014-15 campaign, Freeman discovered that the 'sharp pain' was a stress fracture in his right leg. He had his first leg surgery in the summer of 2015 and eagerly returned to the court for his junior season. Freeman appeared in all 33 games for the Wolfpack, but posted career-low averages in minutes (19.4), points (3.2) and rebounds (5.0) per game.

"I came back junior year kind of too early," Freeman said. "I wasn't really fully healed. So that's why you saw that my junior year, because I was hurt out there.

"At the end of junior year, I got the same surgery. Did it over, and this time we just shut everything down. I redshirted my senior year to let it completely heal, and now we're here."

To get to this point, Freeman went through countless hours of rehab and conditioning. The biggest challenge for him was not being able to play the game he loves.

"The only hard part was when I couldn't run and jump, because basketball is basically running and jumping. I couldn't do a lot of stuff on the court, and that's what I love to do. I love to play basketball, so it was hard to stay motivated in terms of that. When you have to do a lot of rehab and exercises with your body, that's not the fun stuff you really want to do. The first couple months were hard, but after that, once I got cleared to run and jump, we just hit the ground rolling after that."

Despite his circumstances, Freeman had no trouble staying motivated throughout this process. His passion for the sport of basketball, combined with a strong support system of family, friends and teammates was all he needed to strive towards his goals. Above all, Freeman does not want to leave NC State with any regrets.

"Knowing that this was my last year, I just knew that I had to lay it all out. I hit rehab hard every day, and just made sure I gave whatever I had in the tank. I thought, 'This is my last year, I've got to go out with a bang.'

"I don't want to leave NC State saying, 'I wish I could've done this. I wish I could've done that.' I just knew I had to go hard, because this is my last one."

"They were just like, 'Stay with it. Stick with it,' and everything like that," Freeman said of his support system. "They would check on me and stuff like that. Every day they would just be like, 'Trust the process, take care of your body.' Just little stuff like that."

Even though he missed an entire season, Freeman developed his game in a non-traditional way last year. He had a front row seat for all 32 games and was able to take it all in from a different perspective.

"Just watching games, and not playing, it's different. I feel like it's way different from film. In the moment, when you're watching your teammates, you see, 'Oh, that spot was open,' or, 'He should've done that move.' You just get a different feel for the game.

"I feel like I came back a smarter player just from watching every game and not being able to play. You just look at the game different. I'm more aware of the court and what's going on out there."

Now in his fifth year with the Pack, Freeman has stepped up as a leader of Kevin Keatts' first NC State squad. He was recently honored with the Heart of the Pack award, which recognizes the accomplishments of Wolfpack student-athletes who consistently demonstrate the following criteria:

Teammate - exhibiting selfless sacrifice to benefit the team
Effort - consistently giving a great effort
Attitude - demonstrating a positive and can-do attitude
Mindfulness - thinking outside of oneself and finding ways to impact and encourage others

Freeman is set to graduate in December with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management. Now prepping for his final year with the Pack, Freeman wants to see his journey through this nagging leg injury come full circle. When asked, he immediately identified his goal for NC State this year.

"My only goal, honestly, is just to get to the NCAA Tournament. We haven't been to the tournament since my sophomore year. We went to the Sweet 16 that year too, and that was by far the most fun time I've had since I've been in college. Once we get there, it's anybody's game. It's fair game for anyone. That's my main goal, to get us back to the tournament."

North Carolina State University Athletics

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