OU basketball: From New Zealand to Oklahoma, Steven Adams and Matt Freeman have each other's back

NORMAN — Matt Freeman could take State Highway 1 south from Auckland, connect with State Highway 27, and then head east on State Highway 5. That 3-hour and 228-kilometer jaunt would land him in Rotorua, New Zealand — known for its mud pools, hot springs and the country’s most famous basketball player, Steven Adams.

Or, if he really wanted to see Adams, he could save himself an 18-hour flight with a half-hour drive up I-35.

Freeman is 7,500 miles from his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, but 20 miles of Oklahoma pavement is the only distance between the Sooner forward and Adams — the Thunder’s beloved center and the state’s honorary New Zealand ambassador.

“I haven't messaged him in a long time,” Freeman said. “He's super busy and making millions of dollars. I don't want to bother him.”

Freeman enrolled at OU in January 2016. But before he committed, the 6-foot-10 sharpshooter connected with Adams, who had a unique perspective as a transplant Kiwi in the land of Okies.

“I usually try to reach out to most of the athletes from New Zealand because it’s a tough transition, you know?” said Adams, keeping a straight face before cracking a smile. “Going from New Zealand, being such an awesome country, way better than America, to then stepping down, coming to America. It’s tough, it’s tough.”

Though not the five-star commodity Adams was coming out of high school, Freeman was a known player on the New Zealand circuit who had garnered interest from Tennessee, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.

Oklahoma was also on the list. Coach Lon Kruger remembers receiving an email that included Freeman’s highlight tape. The Sooner coach liked what he saw. He just wanted to see Freeman firsthand.

That opportunity came in Las Vegas in the summer of 2015. Freeman’s team was in the states for a showcase tournament.

“I had a terrible game and they still offered me,” Freeman said. “That spoke a lot about what Oklahoma was about.”

Now deep into his third season with the Sooners, Freeman is shooting a career-best 35 percent from three. Sixty-five percent of his field goal attempts have come from behind the 3-point line.

Freeman fell out of Oklahoma’s rotation last season as his shot faltered, but he’s averaging 12 minutes per game this year and has played in 23 of OU’s 25 games.

“He’s a great teammate,” senior guard Rashard Odomes said. “Some people that might have been in his situation before — last year he wasn’t playing so much — they might’ve just quit and gave up on the team. But his attitude never changes.”

When Freeman makes it back home, which isn’t but once a year, he often gets asked about Adams. The two haven’t talked since Freeman’s freshman year, save a couple airport encounters, but Freeman admires what Adams has done for basketball in New Zealand.

“He's obviously a freak of nature, but he's shown that coming from such a small country, it's possible to make it,” Freeman said. “And he's made it, made it. He's made it possible for a lot of younger kids back home.”

Though on a different level, Freeman is providing similar hope to aspiring basketball players in his home country. He can no longer count the number of Division-I basketball players from New Zealand on one hand.

But any list involving New Zealand and basketball starts with Adams.

Videos of Adams’ interviews make Freeman laugh, while also reminding him of home.

“He's just a true Kiwi, honestly,” Freeman said. “He tells you what’s on his mind. I guess it’s a little bit foreign here.”

True to form, Adams remembers what he told Freeman when he came to Oklahoma.

“It was just that he’s got some support here and he’s got someone that if anything happens he can reach out,” Adams said. “It’s more so that than day-to-day pat on the back sort of thing. It’s more like, ‘Look mate, if (crap) hits the fan, you never know, we’ll try to figure something out.’”