ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 04: The Wilson basketball with the Final Four logo is seen as the Connecticut Huskies practice ahead of the 2014 NCAA Men's Final Four at AT&T Stadium on April 4, 2014 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)South Dakota State sophomore guard Noah Freidel has been one of the top players in the college basketball mid-majors for the better part of two years now. But it appears his 2020-21 season is officially over.
On Wednesday, Freidel announced that he is sitting out the remainder of the season to battle depression. In a prepared statement, said that head coach Eric Hender and the SDSU team have supported his decision.
“After meeting with Coach Hendo and my family we’ve decided I’m not going to play for the remainder of the year as I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety,” Freidel said, via the Argus Leader. “I’m going to take this time to get healthy and work through these mental health issues. I’m so thankful to be surrounded by amazing teammates and I can’t wait to get back out on the floor with them.”
Through his first 13 games this season, Freidel was averaging 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Jackrabbits. But he struggled in limited minutes last week against Oral Roberts and was inactive for a game the next day.
Big news in the Summit League: South Dakota State’s Noah Friedel, preseason first-team All-Summit guard averaging 16 a game, announced he’s opting out the rest of the season after struggling with depression and anxiety. https://t.co/FoKMbtQ0GJ
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 17, 2021
Noah Freidel was the Summit League’s Freshman of the Year last year. He helped lead the Jackrabbits to a 22-10 record and their third straight Summit League regular season crown last season.
South Dakota State are currently 12-5 and in a dogfight with the rest of the conference for Summit League supremacy with only a few games left to play.
But Freidel’s health has to be the priority here. It’s good to see that SDSU recognizes that is being so supportive of him.
Get well soon, Noah!
