Diabetics Doing March Madness and Pro Basketball with Austin Freeman

[00:00:07] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015, and we have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories, and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening, and if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email at rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We're telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all across the world. And I'm very excited to introduce my guest for today. It seems like I've known about this guy for a long time, but I'm really fortunate to get him on the podcast. Mr. Austin Freeman, former Georgetown Hoya and DeMatha High School basketball player. So welcome to the show.

[00:01:13] Austin Freeman: Yeah, thanks for having me, man. Thanks for having me.

[00:01:14] Rob Howe: And we were kind of talking about this before we got on the air. this interview started because of a Facebook memory that that reminded me like nine years ago I was watching the Hoyas play on TV and they were talking about your diagnosis and I just wondered at the time and I put it on my Facebook like how good you felt probably playing after you know months potentially of of not feeling well during like diagnosis so I mean kind of welcome to the show first of all and uh feel free to kind of introduce yourself but yeah let's talk about

[00:01:48] Austin Freeman: that diagnosis because that had to be a big shock for you yeah it was actually um it was it was like two weeks like it was like two weeks before it like i actually found out that i just started to feel really bad like um i was using the bathroom all the time uh I just felt weak when I was at practice. Like I couldn't really do much, just no energy, nothing. And then we ended up going, we had a game against Notre Dame. I wasn't feeling well. I had to go in the back to go get an IV because they're thinking the whole time. They're telling me it's a stomach virus. Right. The whole time, I'm like, oh, it's a stomach virus, blah, blah, blah. Everything will be okay. Just take the IV. you'll be okay took the iv go back out there it's the same thing no energy didn't have like couldn't really move well just felt bad the whole time so a couple days of practice same thing a couple days practice same thing we end up going to west virginia um and the same thing's going on using the bathroom like every five minutes still feeling bad not really no energy same thing and then i think it was that morning uh my coach and the team doctor was just like you might just need to go home and you know get some tests so they drive me back to dc from West Virginia and I go see the doctor they run some tests and they go you might be a diabetic or whatever that's what they that's what they said at first they don't know which they didn't know which one at the time so I was in the hospital for I think it was like maybe two days let them keep doing tests to figure out what was going on and then they were like yeah you're diabetic but at that time they still didn't know if I was type 1 or type 2 and I didn't find out maybe if I was type I didn't find out if I was type 1 or type 2 for maybe like a week and a half after I was diagnosed so yeah that it was it was a it was a it was a process well and and I think

[00:04:15] Rob Howe: you know I want to make sure that everybody understands kind of the the context around it because this was late February, early March, right? Yeah, late February. Of your junior season at Georgetown? Yep, yep. So this is like the most intense part of a college basketball season. No, it was, it was, it was, it really was. In conference play. And so, you know, you guys were making a run at the tournament. So, you know, for you guys, and I think as well, like having coach and like practice and the team doctor, like a lot of eyes on you at the time, And still, like, not a whole lot of unanswered questions.

[00:04:52] Austin Freeman: Yeah, yeah, that's what it was. Like, just not knowing at the time. Not knowing at the time. Like, just trying to understand what was actually going on at the time. Because there's just so much going on at the time. So many other, like, doctors coming and talk to you. You got people that were diabetics coming and talking to you. telling you this and telling you that. It was just so much going on that you couldn't really, I personally couldn't really sit down and process what was all going on at that time. But once I had time, like once the season was over and got rid of, I was really able just to sit down and just process everything. I felt like it was just a better transition for me.

[00:05:42] Rob Howe: And I think that's interesting too because, and you mentioned a couple of times that they weren't sure whether you were type 1 or type 2. Do you have any other kind of diabetes in your family, or are you the only one?

[00:05:53] Austin Freeman: My grandmother had it, but she passed away a while ago. But other than that, it's just me.

[00:06:01] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think talking about how frenetic everything is around you and not knowing, also the basketball looming over, right? And it's a very intense time. to have that extra thing going on. I imagine even after you got it fixed, which was my initial question nine years ago, do you remember feeling better or did it really not kick in until the season was over?

[00:06:29] Austin Freeman: The good thing about that, because I went right back to playing when I left to get out of the hospital. I went right back to playing. And we had Dr. Stephen Clement, who was my doctor for my diabetes when I was at Georgetown. So he was with us, like, on the road and at games and stuff like that. So having him there helped me, you know, just to, you know, check my sugar during timeouts and at halftime and before game after game. And just having him there, just helping me do that part, it helped me out so much. Just not having to do it by myself or with our team doctor who kind of knows it but doesn't know it all the way. So just to have him there, it helped me out a lot.

[00:07:24] Rob Howe: So as you guys, especially in the early days, maybe let's go right there immediately after you go back to playing and you've got your doctor there. He's an endocrinologist, I assume. Yeah. with you yeah did you guys have a plan for how you approach games do you remember what that was like or uh i remember like seeing adam morrison when when i was in high school seeing adam morrison from gonzaga like his mom sat behind the bench and helped him check his sugars and like give him gatorade if he needed it did you guys have a similar system like during time yeah we had a

[00:07:53] Austin Freeman: we had a similar system um if uh he he may like we talked about what i should eat for breakfast before games or what I should have for lunch. Because we usually play in 12, so it's usually just breakfast and then game. Just like what I should eat just so I can stay in range and stuff like that. We talked about that before games or before I went to breakfast. And then we'll check again before we go just to shoot around and come back in and we'll check again like we it was like a process just keep like checking and checking and checking and just making sure that you know i was in i was in my proper range like

[00:08:40] Rob Howe: before games yeah and i think like that's something maybe the biggest adjustment and i think i want to focus on that too because you i mean relatively speaking from an athlete perspective you were diagnosed relatively late in your life and you know we now know that there are a lot of people that are diagnosed over the age of 18, but you know, you were effectively like more than halfway done with your college career. You were all American in high school. Like you were used to playing at a high level. What was that adjustment like?

[00:09:10] Austin Freeman: Um, it was just find a way where I can continue to play at a high level, uh, at all times. Um, the, the best thing for me was when I was with them, they always, with the doctors and stuff, they said you can still play and still play at a high level. Just what you do, you know, before, after games and stuff like that. They just always said that you'll always be able to be at a high level. Just you have to, you know, control what you do pretty much.

[00:09:45] Rob Howe: And was that, I mean, for a high-level athlete, I think, you know, anytime that you have the chance, they just tell you kind of what the steps are. did you take that in stride or was that was that difficult at times or just an adjustment

[00:09:59] Austin Freeman: uh more of an adjustment uh and just trying to i i feel like the probably the most i mean the hardest part for me was maybe just uh the food like eating and stuff like that i feel like that that was probably the hardest part for me like just trying to you know you know figure out what i can eat here to not have my you know my sugar go up and just have it just going up and down and stuff like that just having it trying to keep maintaining it pretty much

[00:10:31] Rob Howe: was the hardest part for me at the beginning and kind of going into that like last season and i apologize i should have these notes pulled up i figured we could just talk about it so you guys i mean playing under john thompson the third like you guys made the tournament every year you You were at Georgetown. We did. And your senior year, I remember you were like a standout Big East player. Your team was good. Overcoming that and kind of dealing with the diabetes as well, was there a point in that season where, and maybe everything was going too fast, but you just felt like, hey, you know, I've kind of got this, and I feel like what they were saying was true, that, yeah, I can still play at a high level and manage this?

[00:11:13] Austin Freeman: Yeah. I think it was just a little earlier than me. For me, I feel like the first maybe three, maybe four months, so going into the summertime, that was probably the tough just adjusting to that. That was probably the hardest part for me because we had workouts and just trying to working out didn't have my sugar drop right and it's like that was probably like the hardest part like just trying to figure out where like knowing he's going to drop but not have it drop too low that that was what it was for me um but um you know probably after those three four months i was okay and once we got right into the season like i was good like we were fine like i knew what to tell my the team doctor to help us out because at that uh at that time the uh dr clement wasn't with us anymore he wasn't like traveling with the team. So just having a team doctor, just being able to tell her what I needed or what we needed to do here in certain situations and stuff like that was, you know, I was good with that once the season started and stuff.

[00:12:25] Rob Howe: Yeah, it's interesting. You know, I don't know as much about Coach Thompson, but I remember a big thing for me was, you know, when my coach was really old school, so we would have practices where, you know, he would just run the hell out of us. And there were times when, you know, because of that elevated stress, like sugars would either go up really high or crash. And I remember like one of the toughest parts is because, you know, you're you're kind of as a man and macho athlete. And, you know, your teammates believe that you're you're telling the truth, but you might have to pull yourself out and, you know, fix something. Did you ever feel any of that in any instances like that that ever happened?

[00:13:01] Austin Freeman: Well, with Coach Thompson, he was always looking at me, always peeking just to see if anything was going on once I was diagnosed. So from March to the time I graduated, he was always peeking just to see if anything was wrong or if he felt like, oh, he just looks like he's out of it right now or just looks like he has no energy. He's just always peeking. So, you know, I always had that. I always had him doing that. But, you know, sometimes, you know, like you said, being a macho, macho man or athlete that, you know, they're being very competitive. Sometimes you don't think about it. You just try to, you know, keep going and stuff. Right. But sometimes, you know, you just got to you got to get out sometimes just to, you know, take care of yourself because they always say it's more than basketball or stuff like that.

[00:13:57] Rob Howe: Right. Yeah. It's always so tough because you think like in those moments, it seems so important that you stay in a drill or that you don't take two minutes and go sip on a Gatorade or check your sugar. And I, I don't, I don't know if you wear a CGM now. But at the time I didn't have one. I sort of always wanted to know and like go back and look at what my sugars did during a basketball game or practice because, you know, high stress, high stakes, you know, would cause me to even without eating, I'd go from like 80 to 400 before a game just because I was super hyped and stressed out and all that stuff. And so like that type of approach, having to work through that, and that kind of changed as well as I went through, as I went through college. So it was, yeah, I mean, I feel like with every, everything with type 1, there's an extra step, but sort of always in flux when you're playing

[00:14:50] Austin Freeman: and you have to be at the top level performance wise. Yeah. Yeah. So the same way for the same

[00:14:56] Rob Howe: So for you after, so you get through your senior year, you guys made a run in the tournament. You're looking at your options towards, and I think we graduated the same year, so that's 2011. That's the lockout summer. 2011, yeah. So you're looking at going overseas, and what was your approach like that? How did you approach that as a, you know, really only a year under your belt managing your type 1? I imagine your whole life, you know, up to a certain point, you knew that that was going to be part of what you did, at least for a while. So, you know, I imagine you didn't even give it a second thought, like I'm just going to do this and manage it along the way. How did that process work?

[00:15:38] Austin Freeman: Yeah, that was my plan. You know, I was going to play. I was always like, you know, I have to manage it. I have to, you know, just take care of myself pretty much. That was the main thing. if I want to continue to keep playing that's what I had to do and also when I was coming out of school I was just preparing for the NBA draft and stuff like that that was probably one of the main questions that all the doctors or all the teams asked for the most part and I worked out with 11 teams and every team asked the same question over and over again so how's your diabetes like what do you do like something that was the main question they always asked like it's um and it's still now like even when playing for teams overseas and everybody asks the same thing over and over how's your diabetes how do you control it all all that stuff so yeah it's just you know

[00:16:40] Rob Howe: yeah i think it's interesting and i was i'm glad you answered that question because i was going to ask it i think um i heard adam morrison on JJ Redick's podcast a couple years ago, and I got to ask him the question in person, but I haven't had him on the podcast yet. But he was talking about traveling and dealing with teams and agents as a type 1. And sort of kind of like you were saying with Coach Thompson, they're always kind of looking at you to make sure you're okay because they know you're an athlete and you're going to say you're all right to get a job or play. And, you know, it's so competitive at that level anyway. I actually had my agent told me, and I was nowhere near the player of you or Morrison, but he was telling me not to tell anyone because he didn't want another reason for them to not look at me. And, and, you know, so at that time, I think it took a similar approach to you. It's like, I just have to take care of myself, whether they ask the question or not, if my answer is yes, I'm in control and this is how I handle it. And my numbers are there, then I'm going to be all right. Exactly. So, um, you worked out for those teams. What happened next? What was the, you know, going into that first season, how did you, you know, there was a lot of unknowns that summer, right? The NBA was out. Yeah.

[00:17:54] Austin Freeman: So, yeah, I ended up going to Italy, playing in Italy. I guess the I want to say like the way they the way we handle diabetes in the United States is a little bit different from the way they handle it over there in Italy certain numbers that my doctor was telling me to have my range in during games and stuff like that were not what they wanted over there so i'm telling them so that was the you know we were the little mix-up between like me and the doctors there which is more so this is what my doctor was telling me to use or do to keep my keep my numbers in range or whatever and they're like no this is not what we this is what you need to be at and my doctor was saying telling me like before games just so you don't bottom out or you go too high. He said, I'd rather your numbers be round from 70 to 150. That's what he was telling me. They were like, no, we want it down to 110. I'm like, well, I've been doing this. This is what I'm used to right now. I've only had it for a year. This is what I'm used to. This is what I've been doing. It helps me. It makes me feel better. They're like, no. That was a big thing.

[00:19:25] Rob Howe: And they're Italian as well, right? So there's a little bit of the culture and the language. And, you know, you're the – for those who don't know how that works overseas, you're a foreign player on the team and one of like two or three. And so there's a little bit of the – you're one of the main guys, one of the marquee players. So I'm sure that – and I think it's another thing that's with diabetes as well is that not everybody manages it the same way. Not everybody performs the same way with their numbers. Obviously, it's best if we're all within 90 to 120 and we're right there in the middle. But like you said, to make sure you don't bottom out or crash in a game, I like to play around 150 to 160 because over two hours or so, a lot can change.

[00:20:08] Austin Freeman: Yeah, exactly.

[00:20:10] Rob Howe: And I think just having that, the hardest thing for me was always confidence. like going into, especially if I had kind of a roller coaster day ahead of time, going into the game, always trying to eat the same pregame meal with confidence that I was going to stay, be at a level that I liked and stay there. Because I'm sure I could go back and watch film and watch all the, some terrible games that I played. And I'm sure that high blood sugar played a role in that. Do you, I mean, is there, did it ever affect you in games? Did you ever feel like you were out of rhythm or whatever the case is?

[00:20:44] Austin Freeman: Not, I wouldn't say out of rhythm, but just more so just sometimes not as much energy as, you know, I go into some games than this game that, you know, I just don't feel like I have energy pretty much.

[00:21:04] Rob Howe: Right.

[00:21:04] Austin Freeman: But I feel like most of the time, if I missed a shot or I missed a free throw or bad pass here or not running as fast back on defense or something like that, they would always try to say that, oh, is something wrong with you? Like, is something wrong with your diabetes or something like that? It just didn't go that way. Right. It didn't make a shot. it just happened that way it's not always because of that so you know i just that was probably maybe the only thing that used to frustrate me the most when playing actually and i mean it's it's funny

[00:21:45] Rob Howe: because like nobody else has an excuse it's just the way the game goes right you don't make all your shots you make bad passes you you know you mess up plays i i had a buddy uh that i worked out with a couple summers and you know we were in the middle of a tough workout one day and he's like man I swear when you blink a certain way something's wrong with your diabetes I was like man I'm just I'm just really gassed man I'm just tired I'm just dogging it and uh he's like nah man I promise and I had to like I had to like test in front of him he was just one of those guys I was like nah I gotta be proven wrong um good for good buddy though just uh real real stubborn that's funny um so from Italy like and you and you had the challenges with your doctor obviously in the summer you're coming back home to the u.s um did you have a or did you have have you had a good relationship with your your home-based doctor do they kind of work with you on getting you ready

[00:22:37] Austin Freeman: i have a good i have a good relationship with my doctor uh you know um he uh you know we just you know we talked he asked me you know how are you like how do you feel how have you been feeling how have you been feeling when you've been playing and stuff like that you know we have that relationship where we can talk and stuff like that um just uh you know every now and then you know slip up and he's like oh well if your a1c is this so we just need to break down just a little bit stuff like that but other than that you know me and my good relationship and you know

[00:23:12] Rob Howe: everything's okay so and so you know i think a lot of people maybe have an idea in their head or maybe not. I don't know. I don't want to pass judgment on people, I guess. But what is it? Can you give us a little bit more insight as like, what is life as a professional basketball player outside of the NBA at the highest levels in Europe and over here in like the D League and et cetera? What's that like? What's the stress, the sort of uncertainty? And then how does diabetes play a role in that? Because there's a lot of travel. There's like maybe potentially a new team every year in a different country. What's that preparation? You know, just give us a little bit of background on at least what that's been like for you.

[00:23:54] Austin Freeman: Well, for me, you know, it's been a new team every year. So once you have a new team, then there's a new doctor. Well, I think the hardest part for me is maybe just getting my medicine over here for the most part. you know my parent I usually use my parents or my girlfriend usually whenever she comes over brings stuff over my parents tries to mail it but it takes so long so now I've been trying to use the doctors wherever I play at and you know just work with them to try to get the the best possible insulin for me that I use in the states that they have there.

[00:24:46] Rob Howe: And then that's usually like a brand name difference and the different types. Yeah, brand name difference.

[00:24:53] Austin Freeman: Yeah, but it's the same thing.

[00:24:55] Rob Howe: Well, and I think it's interesting, you know, like here everybody, I mean, we have our problems here in the U.S. getting, you know, the insulin is expensive. There's a lot of articles, a lot of discussions about the high price. And insurance is, you know, expensive, and there's varying different levels of coverage. And then overseas, there are different like Sweden and the UK and Australia, for example, and Canada have different levels that the government provides certain levels of health care. And that varies for people with diabetes. And then like in Germany, they have maybe like the best diabetes health care, like whole hospitals developed to it or dedicated to it. So for you, you're going over there, not only a new team, not only a new team doctor, but also now a new city, a new, a different language, and then navigating that with a new doctor. You just kind of go in cold every time and say, here, you have like a prepared like script or like PowerPoint or something?

[00:25:50] Austin Freeman: I try to go in there prepared, at least having the medicines that I have that I bring from the states here to at least show them, you know, what I have. And we go from there to try to find, you know, the best one that they have that is similar to what I have. and then you know just you know doing a different test that they have you doing out there you know just to you know check to see like you know the A1c test and you know all like the kidneys and all that stuff so you know just taking doing all those tests that they you know that they need just to see that you know you know they're not just asking if you're okay you're telling

[00:26:31] Rob Howe: them okay they can see it for themselves too right so just extra blood drawn extra urine tests

[00:26:39] Austin Freeman: more stuff than just a regular athlete you know right and i think about like you know in the nba

[00:26:47] Rob Howe: like and you know obviously with passing physicals is that a part when they're signing you obviously like the business of basketball you're you're the asset right so they're making sure that you're good yeah ever run into any problems or just extra hoops to jump through uh with teams um

[00:27:04] Austin Freeman: i well my first my first year i'll uh you know my a1c was just a little high sure at the time but um you know that was just more so the fact that yeah i'm still adjusting to this pretty much this has been a year yes but yeah they they had some concerns at first but after like you know i I went through a month and we checked again. Everything was back to where it was. So, I mean, that was probably the only part I had my first year out. But other than that, everything else has been fine.

[00:27:36] Rob Howe: How do you treat your type 1? Do you have multiple daily injections, like pins, or do you use a pill?

[00:27:42] Austin Freeman: Yeah, I have pins. I take the long-lasting and the rapid one, too. Yeah.

[00:27:52] Rob Howe: Yeah, I was on PENS as well when I was first diagnosed. I switched to the pump like halfway through college, and I love it, but it certainly had its challenges as well, especially when you're at training camp all day off the pump, always a challenge. I think a lot of people that I've talked to, pro athletes with type 1, use the long-lasting PENS kind of works better for them. It depends on the person.

[00:28:15] Austin Freeman: I remember in Italy also, they wanted me on, I forgot what it was, they had me on it was like a tester type thing i had they had it on for like a week and i think it was the worst worst thing i've had because it brought i had so much pain because i had to play with it one game i had to play with it and like i don't know for some reason i'll never get hit my stomach whenever i play like that but like i just can every play i was just like getting hit in my stomach and like it was like a needle that was stuck in there so i just kept getting hit hit yeah it was the worst so like um i got a question for you like the pump like yeah where do you like where do you lay so like on stomach or like um i wear it yeah primarily on my stomach

[00:29:04] Rob Howe: um i don't hoop with it on i take the pump off um and i'm sure you've seen like the omnipod pumps that are like stuck to you and yeah i don't i don't wear those because i just play too rough i'm just a scrappy hack motherfucker i guess uh if you had to describe my my basketball ability at this at this level i'm just diving in there going crazy so um i don't wear that one i take it off the only um the only problem i've ever had or the only time a site ever ripped out uh i remember it was like a conference game my senior year it was real close and again I was just hustling for no good reason and I dove on a ball and my jersey came up and my skin kind of slid across the floor and it pulled my sight out and that hurt man I was super like you know you know in like a game when your adrenaline's up you get hit doesn't really hurt that one I felt for sure so I feel that but but now i mean obviously i don't play it at that high of a level anymore either emotionally or competition wise but um now like uh i've played with a dexcom on a cgm and i've worn it on my arm and on my like abdomen my stomach and it doesn't like it because the needle that it has is like soft and it doesn't it's real small so um i have not have any problems with it it's cool because you can go and it's just on your phone so you go over there and look on your phone and you can see what your levels were. And I actually wore two sensors a couple weeks ago because I got a new pump that has like the closed loop. So it tests your blood sugar and adjusts. So I had them both on for a little while and it didn't have any problems. So for, because for a long time, I was afraid because like you said, all I'd heard is that all the sensors, they hurt. And if people hit you, they'll come off. And I didn't want that. And I thought I didn't want another thing on my body. But man, the Dexcom is great. The Medtronic Guardian sensor. They just came out with an app like yesterday or something too that's super cool. And just like just knowing where you are, man, it's like I didn't realize how much I would like that.

[00:31:09] Austin Freeman: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same thing. Because I've been asked maybe for years now, like, would you want to use the pump? Would you want to use the pump? And I'm always like, no, I'm playing. I don't want to, you know, just, you know, be taking it out and putting it back in and stuff like that.

[00:31:27] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I mean, it's one of those things, too, like, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? You've had success, and, you know, your whole life after basketball is going to be there for that. Yeah, exactly. So that's a good question. I mean, you're, I was, you know, Wikipedia said you were playing on some teams. Are you back in the States now?

[00:31:45] Austin Freeman: No, I'm actually in the Dominican Republic right now.

[00:31:47] Rob Howe: Oh, great. That's not a bad place to be, right?

[00:31:51] Austin Freeman: Yeah, it's not bad. It's really, really warm, you know. Can't complain. You know, nice weather.

[00:31:57] Rob Howe: Yeah, so your team now, you've been playing for eight or nine years now overseas, a different team every year. What is that for you? Now you're in the Dominican Republic. You've seen a lot of the world. Any stories about traveling or going somewhere or with diabetes that stand out?

[00:32:22] Austin Freeman: Well, actually in Italy. I had we did like a little camp for my team and it was like maybe I want to say maybe 8 maybe 9 kids out of like the 30 kids that came to the camp all had diabetes and all of them wanted to play on my team because we were coaching and stuff. They were just all like, you know what? Take these kids. They all have diabetes. Y'all can be this team. So it was just like, okay, well, I felt like that was probably real cool for that to have those kids. We all actually had type 1 diabetes too, so it was just something we all related to. They actually was asking a lot of questions and talked about it and stuff like that. That was a cool thing.

[00:33:22] Rob Howe: Man, I bet you those kids will never forget that. Yeah, exactly. That was awesome. That's cool. That's really special, man. I didn't realize for a long time, because I've had Type 1 for 13 years now, and for the first 10 years or so, I didn't go out of my way to talk to people about it. Exactly. Right, because I was dealing with it on my own. I kind of had my own things. But in the last couple of years, specifically just a couple of weeks ago, I was in St. Louis speaking at a JDRF event and just meeting kids and like them showing me their little pumps or their, you know, CGMs. And it makes a huge difference. And I think it impacted me more than I thought it would just to know like, you know, that kid now hopefully can learn something from, you know, people like me, people like you. And, you know, maybe maybe he knows he'll chase chase that dream or whatever that is or push, put a little go the extra mile for that. I remember another time I was in

[00:34:22] Austin Freeman: I was actually at a shoe store back when I was at home I was at a shoe store just walking around looking at some shoes and stuff and his father came to me he was like hey man you went to Georgetown right? I'm like yeah he was like yo you have diabetes right? He was like he called his son over here he was like hey man come here blah blah blah this guy played from Georgetown he had diabetes blah blah blah he was like yo you have any words you can tell him? I'm just like man just uh i was like look just uh you know try to try to control it watch what you eat you know make sure you take your insulin you know stuff like that because his dad was like you know he he gets really upset when he has to take his insulin or when he's playing with his friends and he has to leave and go take his insulin just so he doesn't you know stuff like that i was like man just taking insulin and stuff like that man you'll be fine it's okay i do it so don't worry about it and then like when i said that to him he like kind of like you know his eyes blew up like oh this old guy's taking insulin and stuff like that saying it's okay so it just it made it seem like okay i should do this you know just so i'll be better and stuff like that so i just you know just just little stuff like that sometimes you know yeah i think we underestimate

[00:35:39] Rob Howe: how big of an impact that stuff has you know like you say you see it in that kid's face to him it's a huge deal to give insulin because he doesn't know he doesn't have anything to compare it to yeah so yeah man like those those interactions in the wild like just running into somebody at a shoe store uh there's a guy there's a guy that works in my building that's one of my buddies now i just saw his pump too being outside of his shorts one day and i was like yo you just like whoa you got you got a pump and so it's just like yeah you know that it's a weird thing that you like instantly have in common i would love to be in that situation uh in italy where you get like all these campers that all have diabetes.

[00:36:15] Austin Freeman: That was cool. That was real cool. Yeah, I've also had a couple teammates, you know, that have had it before. I remember I was playing summer league with the Chicago Bulls, and one of my teammates, he just started. I had no idea we'd been practicing. We had like a couple games, and I had no idea that he was a diabetic until one day he actually took his stuff out and he was just checking before the game. And I'm like, you're diabetic? He's like, yeah, man, I'm type 1. And I'm like, oh. And after that, we've just been cool ever since then.

[00:36:57] Rob Howe: What's his name? Chad Pawsmith. Okay. I don't know him, but I'll have to find him. I know Gary Forbes, I guess, is playing right now in France, I think.

[00:37:07] Austin Freeman: Yeah, I know Gary, too. We played – we was on the same team in the D League, the Long Island Nets. We was on the team for a little bit. So, yeah, I know who he is.

[00:37:18] Rob Howe: Yeah, it's – I'm sure – I've never met another basketball player that had it at the same time as me playing. But I imagine that's like the ultimate, like, yo, I get what you're going through kind of moment. It's like – Yeah, yeah. It's got to be pretty cool.

[00:37:34] Austin Freeman: Yeah, it is. It is.

[00:37:36] Rob Howe: So –

[00:37:36] Austin Freeman: You always learn new stuff. like you know everybody so it's just like because i remember talking to gary and he was just telling me about like what he eats now he was like you know i've just been on the whole like like i guess he went pescatarian and he's like yo it's helped me out so much like it's like

[00:37:57] Rob Howe: yeah man i learning stuff i can't like i a couple years ago my parents got me into like Whole30 which is like a you know no sugar no grain type of kind of cleanse lifestyle diet and man changed the game for me like because you know how like you said you show up one day if you've been your sugar's been kind of up and down a big spike from like a high carb lunch or something and you feel like you have concrete in your feet while you're trying to move and yeah just finding that what works for you is you know is different from everybody else but like you said picking up those hacks from people who's got the tips who's got the you know the the edge that's always it's always interesting yeah it is so what's next for you man um you know obviously you're you're in dominican republic you're finishing out a year um you know where do you you know what's what's

[00:38:48] Austin Freeman: the future look like for austin freeman well uh uh let's see this year this season will actually probably be over like in may um i'll probably come home for a little bit to chill out um but But then they have their biggest league where all the teams, all the places in the Dominican Republic, they have a team. So it's their big league starts towards the end of May. So I'll probably be right back out here again at the end of May. And that season goes all the way into August. And then after August, then that's when I'll probably sit down and just figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of the year. So, yeah.

[00:39:32] Rob Howe: That's cool, man. Well, we definitely wish you the best of luck, and we'll kind of keep track of you. So I know Georgetown didn't make the tournament this year. Yeah. Is there a – are you – but I know their recruiting class is looking pretty good next year, I suppose.

[00:39:47] Austin Freeman: Yeah, they have a good, nice little young group that's coming in next year. I feel like they'll be better next year. You know, there'll be another year under pass belt. So, you know, they're coming along. They'll be okay, I'm pretty sure.

[00:40:01] Rob Howe: Yeah, I'm sure they will. That's what they do, right? I ask this question kind of on every interview. So you've traveled a lot, so I feel like you'll give a really good answer. So here the context is you're in an airport and you're at your gate and they're about to close the door to your gate. And for whatever reason, you can't miss the flight. but you run into somebody who's either been recently diagnosed or struggling with their type 1 diabetes what's the one thing you tell them in like that 30 seconds before you have

[00:40:34] Austin Freeman: to jump on that flight that's a good one um oh man that's tough that's a tough one

[00:40:54] Rob Howe: Don't overthink it.

[00:41:00] Austin Freeman: Oh, man. Yeah. Make sure you have – do you have insulin? Don't forget that. And you're going to play.

[00:41:13] Rob Howe: Yeah, man. I think –

[00:41:15] Austin Freeman: No, I love it.

[00:41:17] Rob Howe: And that's the thing, too, is like there's a couple different ways everybody answers that question. And I think you said a lot earlier, like, you know, you can do whatever it is you want to do. And it's an encouraging word, but that's the most practical advice I think anybody's ever given. So that's great. For our listeners who want to connect with you on social media, what's the best way to do that?

[00:41:42] Austin Freeman: Instagram. I think it's either underscore sugarfree5 or just sugarfree5. and then I have Twitter which is pretty much the same thing it's either underscore sugar free 5 or sugar free 5 I can't really remember

[00:41:58] Rob Howe: well we'll definitely give you links to those in the show notes and send that out on Instagram as well Austin man I appreciate your time I know you're a busy dude and you got a lot going on out there in Dominican so I know our listeners are really going to appreciate this episode and this is also the first basketball episode that I've ever gotten to do so So I'm hyped about that.

[00:42:20] Austin Freeman: It's really great. Yeah, man. Thanks for having me.