Daily Iowan

Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ben Roberts/The Daily Iowan

A plethora of pool workouts, ice packs, Ibuprofen, and a little help from the man upstairs have Tony Freeman feeling great.

Four weeks removed from a broken toe injury that has left first-year coach Todd Lickliter without the Hawkeyes' top returning scorer and most experienced leader, Freeman's wardrobe - black practice jersey and laced sneakers - were convincing indicators of his improved health Wednesday afternoon.

And while the rehabilitation process for Freeman was originally labeled four to six weeks following the insertion of a screw in his left foot, Lickliter said he is optimistic the junior will return at some point in the next two weeks.

"I think [Freeman's] doing really well," he said. "I can't give you a time, but I do know that they said four to six weeks, and I gotta think that six is going to be the latest part."

Just two days removed from Iowa's 56-47 home loss to Wake Forest, the team's third straight, Wednesday's practice marked the first time since the injury that Freeman's workout included any on-court activity.

Awaiting the all-important opinion of John Strief, the team physician with the final say on his return date, Freeman has been impatiently battling his way back to full strength with the hopes of returning before Winter break.

"I feel like Michael Phelps out there," he joked before practice. "I've been doing a lot of pool workouts, a lot of conditioning as far as swimming back and forth and a lot of running, just trying to plant and see where the strength is and how the bone is healing.

"It could be two weeks, anything in time between two weeks and now. It just depends how I feel on a day-to-day basis."

While the physical aspect has undoubtedly been the biggest emphasis in Freeman's recovery, the junior is quick to credit the soothing role his faith has played in coping with the inability to play.

"I've been doing a lot of praying," he said. "The man upstairs has been helping me a lot with my patience and what not. He's been doing a good job of just laying his hands me and healing me the best way he can."

Although the setback has given Jeff Peterson the opportunity to start all seven games this season, perhaps nobody in the program will benefit more from Freeman's return than the freshman.

"It'll help me, but it'll help the whole team," Peterson said. "Tony's a great player and a leader, and it'll help a lot more having two primary ball handlers on the court."

Continued...

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