It had been a few minutes since he made the decision, and it was a whirlwind.
Freddie McSwain’s phone was blowing up with congratulatory texts, tweets and interview requests. But there was a text that stood out a little more than the rest.
He focused on a text from Tom Crean, IU’s coach, where McSwain just committed to playing his next two years of basketball.
“He was texting me a few minutes ago saying, ‘Let’s go Fred. Let’s win,’” McSwain said. “He’s just as excited as I am.”
Crean might have been the biggest reason for McSwain spurning Kansas State for IU on Sunday night.
In the last of his two seasons at Neosho County Community College, McSwain averaged 14 points a game to go along with 8.4 rebounds in 24.3 minutes a game. Each of those numbers were up from his freshman season at Neosho.
That theme of constant improvement is one he hopes continues in Bloomington under Crean.
“I want to get coached by him because he’s such a great coach,” McSwain said. “He said he sees a pro in me and wants to coach me and he’s been saying since day one he wants to coach me.”
McSwain joins a crowded group of forwards in Bloomington next season. That’s even if junior forward Troy Williams decides to hire an agent to officially enter the NBA draft.
If he doesn’t, that means IU has one more player than it has scholarships, so someone will need to transfer.
But if he does leave, and every other player stays, McSwain joins a forward group that includes senior Collin Hartman, sophomores OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan and freshman De’Ron Davis.
McSwain said he sees himself as a player who can come into a game and make an immediate difference, mainly because of all the areas he can contribute.
“Being an all-around player, being athletic, playing with a high motor, just helping the team by being myself,” McSwain said. “Really don’t try to do too much, just be a team player and be a great player.”
For McSwain, what he brings to Bloomington at the start of next season will not be what he leaves with. Or at least that’s the plan, he said.
That’s the ultimate reason he turned down what looked like more playing time at Kansas State, because the next two years aren’t the end game for McSwain.
The ultimate goal for McSwain is to play in the NBA after his last two years in college, and spending those two years improving in the IU program with Crean was what he believed to be the best way to reach his goal.
“I’m just looking to keep moving up those steps, man, just keep moving up,” McSwain said. “I just want to show I can at least try to get to the NBA or the pros. I just want to keep moving forward with no stepping back. I just want to get better and better.”
