Joel Friesen has won many titles before in his career. This summer, he’ll get a chance to add another one in his hometown – back where it all began.
“It’s an opportunity I always hoped for, [but] never really anticipated actually happening,” Friesen said. “It’s going to be a huge opportunity for me and other local guys who are going back to their hometowns.”
The 6’5 guard from Abbotsford, B.C. is playing in his first season with the Fraser Valley Bandits, his hometown club, in the new Canadian Elite Basketball league. He was also the league’s first-overall pick in the inaugural CEBL draft.
Friesen, who played this past season for the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans in the National Basketball League of Canada {NBL}, said he decided he wanted to play in the CEBL during the summer after playing in tournaments overseas in previous years. As it happened, the Bandits won the draft lottery and ended up with the top selection.
“Pretty honoured to be recognized like that,” he noted. “My hometown team…it felt pretty good to get drafted first overall. A blessing for sure.”
He calls himself a dynamic two-way guard. Friesen describes himself as very competitive on the court different off it.
“Pretty goofy. And I'm very, like, lights spirited. I like to think I'm pretty funny. But some people just think I'm an idiot,” he said with a laugh.
The 28 year-old’s career has taken him to many places across Canada, from his time in high school to now. It’s taken him to the Canadian national team as well in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
His journey has also been filled with ups and downs: championships, individual honours but also injuries and adversity.
Friesen was born in Abbotsford and said he moved around a lot growing up. He had goals of being a professional athlete as he enjoyed playing soccer at first before switching to basketball.
‘Out in B.C., it rains a lot so I kind of got sick of that so I wanted to go inside and a lot of those skills I learned from soccer translated over to basketball,” he said. He won the AAA B.C. high school championship with Yale Secondary school. He then committed to the University of Fraser Valley (UFV).
Then, in 2008, as a 17 year-old, he tore his ACL. “it was really unfortunate…but it gave me an opportunity to be sidelined and to rehab and be dedicated to that part of rehabilitating my body and then also just being on the sideline learning.”
He had to redshirt his first year at Fraser Valley but kept learning the game, talking with coaches and seeing the game from a different angle. “Really kind of helped my basketball IQ,” he noted.
At Fraser Valley, he would continue to progress, rebounding from his injury and taking the team to new heights. He was a Canada West second-team all-star in 2011 but the following year would be him and his team’s finest.
He was a first team all-star in 2011-12, hitting the game-winner to take UFV to the Canada West finals. They then fell just short of the title but made history, taking the program to its first nationals.
“I think that was a pretty good foundation we developed as a team, a group of guys that were there,” he noted. “We had some good success even since then and I’m glad I could be a part of it.”
Friesen then transferred to the University of Alberta (coached by current Edmonton Stingers coach Barnaby Craddock, who also coached him at UFV) the following season and winning won that Canada West title. The Golden Bears also finished third at nationals that season.
Friesen said it wasn’t an easy decision to leave Fraser Valley but it gave him the best chance to win titles – which he did.
“That Canada West championship was huge,” he said. “It was something that I wanted extremely, extremely bad, especially after getting a taste of it in the Valley.”
Once his university career was over, Friesen looked at professional options. Unfortunately, he was also dealing with an injury at the time – one of many throughout his career.
“I just did everything I could to try and get picked up,” he said. It started with Friesen sending out a Facebook message and getting an invite to the Niagara River Lions of the NBL (now in the CEBL) training camp. He eventually got cut but that opened the door for him to join the Halifax Hurricanes.
Luckily for him, as Friesen, the season started late, which allowed him the opportunity to rehab from his injury. In his rookie year, his team won the NBL title, something he’s accomplished three times now (twice with the London Lightning).
“I think the biggest transition was just waiting on my opportunity and in the speed of the game, the athleticism was next level,” he said of his first season in the league. “Just trying to prove myself that I can do what I do at the next level.”
Now, he’s grown his skills on the court as a more well-rounded player.
“In university, I was more athletic, more of a slasher, athletic defender whereas over the years, you become more polished, the game slows down for you,” Friesen said.
He’s also grown as a leader as well.
“Just trying to learn as much leadership qualities as I can from guys that I thought were the best leaders for me and try and take those qualities and pass them on.” He said it involves motivating teammates and staying motivated himself.
Friesen’s career has had its successes but also its challenges. Starting with the ACL tear in 2008, Friesen suffered numerous injuries to many parts of his body: wrists, ankles, a couple of concussions as well as bumps and bruises.
“I mean, I think the toughest part of injuries is just being away from the game, not being able to go up there and compete,” he said. “Just not being able to do what you love.”
“I fall a lot, I jump hard, I play with contact and I think maybe that’s part of why I had to deal with what I dealt with,” he added. “But a lot of other parts of it, I just can’t control it and freak injuries happen sometimes.”
For instance, Friesen missed 17 games this current season with the Titans after suffering an ankle injury where he fell down on another player. However, through that process, he’s gained more resilience.
“You know, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I feel like I’ve always come back a little bit better from every surgery, every injury, whether it be mentally or physically,” he noted. Friesen said another challenge for him has been having to leave home to play basketball. It means being away from family and friends.
“Go try and make this dream happen,” was what he was told, the message at the core of Friesen’s motivation to leave the Valley to play elsewhere. It was the sacrifice needed for his career.
“I haven’t been able to go back to the Valley the last few years because I’ve been, like I said, make [the dream] happen,” he said.
While Friesen’s been away, he’s made his different destinations “a home away from home.” Edmonton, Halifax, London, Kitchener-Waterloo.
“It’s kind of developed me into being the pro that I am now, being able to be prepared for anything, any situation,” he noted.
“It’s always hard to say goodbye to people and go do this but that’s part of the job,” he said.
“I’ve been blessed enough actually to stay in Canada. Some guys, you know, they got to go across overseas.”
Friesen traveled to Chile to take part in Canada’s World Cup qualifiers last September, where team Canada won a key game on the road to qualifying.
“Honestly, one of the last thing that I had written down, my goals to do as a pro player and trying to rep Canada as much as I can,” Friesen said. “Just taking in all that experience that I could, from those vets and those coaches, that was a dream come true.”
Now, as part of the Bandits, he has a chance to live out another dream: playing at home and even perhaps winning a championship at home. It’s something he hasn’t done since his Yale secondary days and something he came oh-so-close to in the final year at UFV.
“There’s going to be people I haven’t seen in a long time,” Friesen said before the CEBL season.
“I can’t wait to get back there and reconnect with people...and try and make this the best experience for everyone involved.”
By Michael Sun