The state of Oklahoma is stacked with basketball talent in 2023, with three composite four-star recruits playing within the state’s borders.
Bixby sharpshooter Parker Friedrichsen is one of those guys. A 6-foot-4 guard for the Spartans, Friedrichsen has spent a lot of time in Stillwater as of late. He has been to three games this season, including the Cowboys’ loss to Iowa State last week.
Friedrichsen spoke with PFB Sunday evening about his recruitment and OSU coach Mike Boynton.
PFB: How was Wednesday’s visit?
Parker Friedrichsen: “It was good. I’ve been to a few games now and just to get over there again, it was good to watch them play. Obviously they didn’t win, but it was still a good game.”
PFB: What do you like about Oklahoma State so far in your recruiting process?
PF: “Obviously for me, Oklahoma State is close to home. That’s always a bonus for anything. Coach Mike, being able to build a good relationship with him, it’s been really good, and Keiton [Page], I’ve been talking to him a lot. Just building a good relationship with them and being able to see them play a lot just because I’m close.”
PFB: Everyone talks about Mike being such a good recruiter, as someone with some inside knowledge on that, what stands out about Mike to you?
PF: “I mean, Boynton, he’s awesome. Like, he’s super personable. And the thing about him is he’s just so easy to like. He’s always around. I think he’s been to two or three of my games this year. He came to see me just when the evaluation period was open, so he’s always checking up on me. He just talks to me a lot. Just building a relationship with him, that trust is there. He got Cade Cunningham. He didn’t get him for no reason. He’s just a guy that people want play for.”
PFB: What makes him so personable?
PF: “He’s always reaching out, just asking how I’m doing. We’ll talk just life. We won’t even talk basketball. He’ll check up on me. I mean, literally any type of conversation, everything doesn’t have to be basketball, and we just talk. Being able to just talk to him a lot, it’s easier.”
PFB: You mentioned Keiton, what have your talks with him been like?
PF: “I think he was the first person to reach out to me from OSU. He played at OSU. I grew up watching him play. For him to tell me that I can come in and that they need a guy like me that can shoot, I mean, coming from him, it means a lot just because he’s the guy that everybody loved back when he was playing because he can shoot. He’s always texting me and asking me how my games are going, how my family is doing. We talk probably four or five times a week.”
PFB: Did you grow up an OSU fan?
PF: “I was born in St. Louis and moved down here when I was like 3 or 4, but I’ve I haven’t really been OU or OSU. It’s just kind of been neutral for me.”
PFB: What has been Boynton’s pitch to you?
PF: “For one, I’m an in-state kid, so it’d be special just to stay home, be close to home. But for two, just being able to come in and be the guy that can knock down shots for them at a high percentage. They’re not struggling with it this year, but they could use someone like me to just come in shooting and make a shot. So that’s kind of been his pitch, just to come in and work hard, possibly earn minutes pretty early and just knock down shots for them.”
PFB: What other schools have you been in contact with the most?
PF: “I would say I’ve talked to Purdue, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Creighton, Missouri and Virginia Tech probably the most consistently – those handful of schools. I’ve talked to them literally once every two days, once a day. I’m always talking to that select group of schools.”
PFB: Do you have any other visits planned?
PF: “I went on officials back in October to the Big Ten schools that have offered me, but I am taking another official, as of now, to Creighton in February. For OSU and OU, I haven’t taken an official to either yet, but they’re so close. It’s just easy for me to go over there with no official, just drive or whatever. I know I’ll be at OSU this Saturday, and I’ve been at OU like two or three times a month, as well.”
PFB: Do you know any of the players at OSU?
PF: “I do. I mean, I didn’t really know them at first, but being over there so much, talking to them before games, after games, I’ve gotten pretty, I wouldn’t say close, but I mean, I’ve talked to all of them a lot. Bryce [Thompson], being from Tulsa, Keylan [Boone] and Kalib [Boone]. They’re all easy to talk to you, Rondel [Walker]. Every time I’m over there, I’m always talking to somebody.”
PFB: Do you have a timeline set for when you’d like to make a decision?
PF: “I told myself, kind of a family decision because everything was happening so fast in like July in the summer, we kind of made a decision that it would be after the college basketball season. As for me, I’m not going to drag it out forever. But I think once the season’s over, kind of just sit down and talk about it and then go from there.”
PFB: Who are you playing AAU ball with this summer?
PF: “I’m playing with MOKAN. … They’re out of Kansas City. The last Oklahoma kid to play for MOKAN, I think it was Trae Young. They came after me after the AAU season, and they came down, we had a meeting with them. I couldn’t really turn it down. I’m excited for it.”
PFB: Lastly, what’s are you looking for in a college program?
PF: “I would say for me, I mean, location is not really that big of a deal for me. Really, I just want the fit to be pretty much perfect. I don’t want to be told I’m going to start or wherever, but I want to know that there’s a chance to play early. If there’s juniors and seniors by the time I get in, obviously, I’m gonna have to work a little harder, but I think just for me, just the relationship I have between the coaching staff and my family, just how it was through the recruiting process and then when I get to campus. Just a place that is competitive. My childhood dream has been to play the NCAA Tournament, so I want to go to a program that has a pretty good track record of that and be a guy that can contribute in getting there.”