Newcastle teen will be OU's honorary sixth man Saturday
NORMAN — Caleb Freeman was never supposed to wake up. Even upon regaining consciousness, his ability to walk or talk seemed a distant hope.
Not 14 months have passed since the 17-year-old from Newcastle suffered a traumatic brain injury when a semi-truck T-boned Freeman's vehicle on his way to an Oklahoma basketball game.
But Freeman has already ditched his wheelchair. He no longer needs a walker. And on Saturday, Freeman will go back to being a basketball player. The 6-foot-1 guard will be the Sooners' honorary sixth man when Oklahoma hosts No. 18-ranked Texas Tech at 3 p.m. Freeman will be announced with OU's starting lineup, and he'll stand next to his new teammates during the national anthem.
“We'll try not to cry on the court,” senior center Jamuni McNeace said. “It'll be real special for him.”
The Sooners were playing Northwestern State on Dec. 19, 2017, a Tuesday night, when Caleb and his brother Clayton collided with the semi-truck on their way to Lloyd Noble Center. Clayton was OK, but the crash left Caleb in a coma for the next two months.
“That was the night Trae Young went off and set the record for assists,” Jeremy Freeman said. “Twenty-two,”
Caleb quickly reminded his dad. His speech has slowed since the accident, but his mind is sharp. After months at rehabilitation centers, Caleb is back in school at Newcastle. He's in AP Algebra and made straight A's last semester. He hated Biology before the crash. He woke up, and now he loves the subject.
He used to be introverted. “But now the guy talks to everybody, anything, anyone,” Jeremy Freeman said. “If you give him a microphone, you'll never get it out of his hand.”
Caleb is using that microphone to tell his story. Jeremy Freeman is lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Newcastle, and the Freemans believe their faith is intertwined with the miracle Caleb has become.
Caleb remembers being in the hospital, not knowing if he was going to live or die.
“If I do die,” Caleb thought to himself, “What's the worst thing that's gonna happen? I go to Heaven.”
His dad interjected with the all-important but.
“But it was important for me to have a full recovery” Caleb said, “because it would give me this amazing story to share with people around the world.”
Some closest to Caleb's story are on the OU basketball team. The teenager has no resentment toward the program. In fact, he's grown into an even bigger fan.
Young, in the game following Freeman's injury, wrote Caleb's name on his shoes. He later sent the shoes to Caleb.
Caleb is also friends with former Sooner star Buddy Hield. Caleb collected another pair of shoes in December. He and his dad came to an OU practice before the Creighton game, and graduate transfer guard Miles Reynolds took off his sneakers and handed them to Caleb.
“When I first walked in, everyone already knew who I was,” Caleb said. “They were all giving me bro shakes. It was really cool.”
After games, Reynolds and his teammates almost always have a message waiting for them from Caleb.
“Even if we take an L,” McNeace said. “He'll still say, `You guys got this,' keeping us motivated, keeping us together.”
Caleb used to play basketball for Newcastle, but he was better at cross country.
As Jeremy reminisced about his son playing sports, Caleb's remarkable sense of humor kicked in. “I'm just going on with my life, not really having a hard time with it, and then my dad will say something like, 'I miss the way you play basketball so much.'” Caleb exaggerates that last part in a drawn-out whine as he and his dad cracked up together. It's why Saturday will be special. More than a year has passed, and Caleb is ready to return to the court. “Caleb's always dreamed about playing for OU,” Jeremy Freeman said. “Even back before the wreck we knew it was a ridiculously long shot. But here he gets to come off the bench. It's pretty amazing really.”
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