For the first time in 26-years, the Freeman Flyers are back at the state boys' basketball tournament.
With a 19-4 record on the year, and just three seniors listed on the programs roster, it’s a unit that has Flyers fans excited for basketball once again.
Freeman defeated Gayville-Volin 61-38, and Parkston 86-76, in region play. As the No. 10 seed in the SoDak 16, they defeated No. 7 Howard to punch their ticket to state.
Flyers head coach Lance Freisen missed Wednesday’s shoot around at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen due illness, but his second in-charge, and longtime friend, Kyle Weier ran the team’s final practice before the state tournament began.
“We’re young. The goal this year was to win regions, and we did that,” said assistant coach Weier. “We played lights out and then we happened to win our SoDak 16 game and now it’s here. Everybody is so excited and it’s so fun to be back.”
It’s the first time since 1999 that Freeman has been to the boys' state tournament. In ’75 they won state in ‘B,’ and then in ’97 they finished runner-up.
The Flyers, who are seeded No. 6 at this year’s state tournament, will play fellow region four foe, and No. 3 seeded Viborg-Hurley in the quarterfinal round. The two teams met up early in the season, which saw Freeman win a narrow game 57-53.
“I don’t think either team would tell you they played their best game of the year,” stated Weier. “They’ve improved a ton as we’ve watched them and we’ve improved, so we’re excited for the task and it’s a new game. That last one doesn’t count.”
Freeman’s four losses on the year were to Howard, who they beat in the SoDak 16, Dell Rapids, a Class A team, and then Centerville and St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s is also at the state ‘B’ tourney this year as the No. 2 seeded team.
“You know, it’s great to be excited to be here, but the goal is we’ve got a job to do yet. We can play with these teams,” Weier said. “At the beginning of the year it was like, we hope we can get there, now it’s more that we belong. It’s like they say in poker, a chip and a chair and you’ve got a shot.”
Coach Freisen and Weier are big names in the Freeman area. Both were part of the football dynasty at the school back in the 90’s. Coach Weier mentioned how this year’s basketball team just does things the right way and they believe in the mission to be successful.
“The kids are awesome in everything together. We go into the gym at night to shoot with my daughters and the boys are always there,” smiled Weier. “They’re hungry, they want it. They put in the work; it’s a fun group to be around.”
Freeman will play Viborg-Hurley on Thursday night at 7:45 pm CT in the quarterfinals. The game will air live on SDPB3-TV and stream live online at sdpb.org/basketball and on YouTube.
