Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Deacon Sports Xtra: Friedrichsen Finding His Footing
11/28/2023 8:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Freshman guard Parker Friedrichsen is bringing a committed focus to the Demon Deacons’ men’s basketball program during his first year on campus.
As Parker Friedrichsen was navigating his way through his junior season at Bixby High School (Bixby, Oklahoma), he realized he was sitting on seven mid-major offers from over the previous seven months.
Then, he led his team to a big win while going 12-for-15 from the three-point line. He fielded 11 offers from power conference teams over the next 24 hours. His recruitment had officially blown up. He ended up with roughly three dozen offers, giving verbal commitments to a pair of schools before a coaching change at Notre Dame led him to Wake Forest and coach Steve Forbes.
"I had a wild recruiting process, for sure," Friedrichsen reflects. "But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I had fun during the process and took all my visits. My recruiting process with Wake Forest was really good. I couldn't be more excited to be here."
Seeing the ball go through the hoop that consistently had its pros and cons, as opposing defenses often centered their attention solely on Friedrichsen. He once even faced a triangle-and-two defense, with three defenders situated in a zone defense in the paint with the two other opponents guarding him.
"It's a good thing because everything is going in, but it's a bad thing because then the opponents are throwing everything at you to try to stop you," Friedrichsen noted. "It's fun. You have those nights where the ball just feels so good coming off your hand.
"We played in the highest conference in the state and had a really good team. I've seen a lot. I've seen double teams in the front court and traps in the backcourt. I've seen it all. Having to play with the ball in my hand all the time in high school helped prepare me for the next level here at Wake Forest."
Arriving on campus during the summer, Friedrichsen has spent the last few months acclimating himself to the campus, the staff, his teammates and the weight room.
"The first couple of months have been really good," he said. "It's been great to settle in. It's pretty easy being around great teammates all the time. The weather is great and it's a lot like home — a small town that's kind of a basketball mecca. It's been cool to get to a new spot and have a new team to be with.
"Just being away from home and picking up new routines while living life on my own have been the biggest adjustments. At the end of the day, it's mostly just school and basketball — which I've been used to my entire life. It's been an easy adjustment overall."
Friedrichsen is known as a player who can just fill it up from long range. He averaged more than 30 points a game in his senior high school season and hit over 40 percent of his shots behind the arc. He finished his high school career with 2,149 points, becoming just the second player in Oklahoma state history to surpass 2,000 points, joining Trae Young, current Atlanta Hawks guard.
"I just want to be able to go in and do whatever Coach wants," Friedrichsen said about his role as a freshman this season. "I'll be able to stretch the floor and make open shots, being a specialist in a way. As we get Damari (Monsanto) and some others back, roles will change. But for me, I want to come in and play hard and play good defense. Make shots and do whatever is asked.
"We all know what Damari does. For me right now, it's important to make open shots. Once he comes back, that's what he's going to come in and do. I just want to make open shots and do whatever Coach Forbes wants."
Although he's known as a shooter, Friedrichsen is a pesky defender, and his defensive presence will likely grow as he gains experience and size as an upperclassman.
"Sometimes I don't think I get enough credit for my defense," he said. "But when you say someone is a really good shooter, a lot of times the implication is that they can't or won't play good defense. That's going to be where I get my time, is by playing good defense."
Having already added 12 pounds during the summer, Friedrichsen is excited to see how his work with strength and conditioning coach Mike Starke will pay dividends.
"Starke is awesome," he said. "I knew coming in that the weight room would be the biggest place of improvement I would need. Starke knows when to go heavy and when to go light, and understands what each individual player needs. It's important to stay close to the strength and conditioning staff and listen to them."
Although Friedrichsen has played basketball his entire life, he considered golf his number one sport until he started getting heavily recruited.
"I got my first recruiting call in the ninth grade," he said. "That's when I realized I could do this and that I should invest more time into it. That's the year I really took a big jump. Then, when COVID-19 came, I really worked on my game. I grew from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-2 from seventh grade to my freshman year. Growing helped but, during my freshman year, I really put the hammer down and started grinding."
Friedrichsen expects to expand his game and become more comfortable on the court as the season progresses.
"I think every game I'm only going to get better," he said. "I'll watch film and see what mistakes I make, and the game will just continue to slow down for me. It'll be crucial in these non-conference games to just continue to improve before the ACC schedule arrives. Film is a great teacher and we have a great coaching staff to help me out."
His teammates have helped make the adjustment to Wake Forest incredibly smooth for Friedrichsen.
"Coming here, you don't really know anybody, but you end up having 12 brothers right off the bat," he said. "These guys are my best friends. We live together and do everything together. This is amazing. We don't have any cliques on this team. We're all together all the time and it's a perfect situation."
Then, he led his team to a big win while going 12-for-15 from the three-point line. He fielded 11 offers from power conference teams over the next 24 hours. His recruitment had officially blown up. He ended up with roughly three dozen offers, giving verbal commitments to a pair of schools before a coaching change at Notre Dame led him to Wake Forest and coach Steve Forbes.
"I had a wild recruiting process, for sure," Friedrichsen reflects. "But I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I had fun during the process and took all my visits. My recruiting process with Wake Forest was really good. I couldn't be more excited to be here."
Seeing the ball go through the hoop that consistently had its pros and cons, as opposing defenses often centered their attention solely on Friedrichsen. He once even faced a triangle-and-two defense, with three defenders situated in a zone defense in the paint with the two other opponents guarding him.
"It's a good thing because everything is going in, but it's a bad thing because then the opponents are throwing everything at you to try to stop you," Friedrichsen noted. "It's fun. You have those nights where the ball just feels so good coming off your hand.
"We played in the highest conference in the state and had a really good team. I've seen a lot. I've seen double teams in the front court and traps in the backcourt. I've seen it all. Having to play with the ball in my hand all the time in high school helped prepare me for the next level here at Wake Forest."
Arriving on campus during the summer, Friedrichsen has spent the last few months acclimating himself to the campus, the staff, his teammates and the weight room.
"The first couple of months have been really good," he said. "It's been great to settle in. It's pretty easy being around great teammates all the time. The weather is great and it's a lot like home — a small town that's kind of a basketball mecca. It's been cool to get to a new spot and have a new team to be with.
"Just being away from home and picking up new routines while living life on my own have been the biggest adjustments. At the end of the day, it's mostly just school and basketball — which I've been used to my entire life. It's been an easy adjustment overall."
Friedrichsen is known as a player who can just fill it up from long range. He averaged more than 30 points a game in his senior high school season and hit over 40 percent of his shots behind the arc. He finished his high school career with 2,149 points, becoming just the second player in Oklahoma state history to surpass 2,000 points, joining Trae Young, current Atlanta Hawks guard.
"I just want to be able to go in and do whatever Coach wants," Friedrichsen said about his role as a freshman this season. "I'll be able to stretch the floor and make open shots, being a specialist in a way. As we get Damari (Monsanto) and some others back, roles will change. But for me, I want to come in and play hard and play good defense. Make shots and do whatever is asked.
"We all know what Damari does. For me right now, it's important to make open shots. Once he comes back, that's what he's going to come in and do. I just want to make open shots and do whatever Coach Forbes wants."
Although he's known as a shooter, Friedrichsen is a pesky defender, and his defensive presence will likely grow as he gains experience and size as an upperclassman.
"Sometimes I don't think I get enough credit for my defense," he said. "But when you say someone is a really good shooter, a lot of times the implication is that they can't or won't play good defense. That's going to be where I get my time, is by playing good defense."
Having already added 12 pounds during the summer, Friedrichsen is excited to see how his work with strength and conditioning coach Mike Starke will pay dividends.
"Starke is awesome," he said. "I knew coming in that the weight room would be the biggest place of improvement I would need. Starke knows when to go heavy and when to go light, and understands what each individual player needs. It's important to stay close to the strength and conditioning staff and listen to them."
Although Friedrichsen has played basketball his entire life, he considered golf his number one sport until he started getting heavily recruited.
"I got my first recruiting call in the ninth grade," he said. "That's when I realized I could do this and that I should invest more time into it. That's the year I really took a big jump. Then, when COVID-19 came, I really worked on my game. I grew from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-2 from seventh grade to my freshman year. Growing helped but, during my freshman year, I really put the hammer down and started grinding."
Friedrichsen expects to expand his game and become more comfortable on the court as the season progresses.
"I think every game I'm only going to get better," he said. "I'll watch film and see what mistakes I make, and the game will just continue to slow down for me. It'll be crucial in these non-conference games to just continue to improve before the ACC schedule arrives. Film is a great teacher and we have a great coaching staff to help me out."
His teammates have helped make the adjustment to Wake Forest incredibly smooth for Friedrichsen.
"Coming here, you don't really know anybody, but you end up having 12 brothers right off the bat," he said. "These guys are my best friends. We live together and do everything together. This is amazing. We don't have any cliques on this team. We're all together all the time and it's a perfect situation."
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