Last week, Liza Fruendt found herself playing tennis in the Knoxville, Tennessee backyard of Kellie Harper, her former college coach.
It wasn’t just a social call, however.
Fruendt was in her first week on Harper’s staff at Tennessee. The Batavia graduate is now a program assistant for the storied women’s basketball team.
“We sat down and she was like, ‘Did you think eight years ago we both would have pictured us playing tennis in my backyard?'” Fruendt said. “I could have never imagined it like this. I’m just so grateful.”
Fruendt finished her Missouri State career with 1,656 points, good for seventh in program history.
Wanting to stay in the game, she took a graduate assistant position at Missouri-Kansas City. She stayed there two years, earning a master’s degree in business administration.
A desire to stay in Kansas City and a lack of coaching options during the coronavirus pandemic led her to a job with Cerner Corporation.
“I took it in the moment, and I really enjoyed it, seeing my interests outside of basketball,” Fruendt said. “When things started opening up and things got back to normal, I wanted to get back in.”
While Fruendt was in Kansas City, Harper was hired at her alma mater, Tennessee. Harper reached out to her former player.
“I expressed my interest in getting back into it and she pushed the process forward,” Fruendt said. “It’s really cool. The best part about it is everybody is just so proud to be here and they carry themselves at such a high level.
“You kind of take a step back and say, ‘Wow.’ Everything with Pat (Summitt) and the tradition, it’s really next level, honestly.”
The fact Fruendt wanted to get back into the game made sense to Kevin Jensen, her high school coach.
“I’m pretty happy and not surprised she got back in,” Jensen said. “I know she had a great relationship with coach Harper at Missouri State.
“Kellie played under Pat Summitt and won national titles. It’s a match made in heaven.”
The players were on campus for Fruendt’s first week but then went home until school starts, giving Fruendt a chance to settle into her new surroundings.
She will have a hand in just about every aspect of the program in her new position.
“My main duties are doing operational things around recruiting and helping out where I can,” Fruendt said. “I’m happy to do that. I coordinate Kellie’s speaking engagements and community events.
“I’ve been a player. I’ve been a GA. Now I get the bigger-scale experience. For me, it was a no-brainer for a lot of reasons.”
One thing she learned in her year out of the game was the importance of life balance, a concept sometimes lost in the coaching community.
“Kellie loves basketball and she’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met, but she values her family,” Fruendt said. “There’s this thought in basketball that you can’t have balance.
“We do have to have balance and also dedicate the time to be the best we can be. It’s almost like breaking the stereotype that you have to work 24 hours a day to outwork people.”
Fruendt said life in the coaching world is all about timing. The right time with the right coach at the right university came about, and she’s trying to ride the wave.
“I’m thankful I really built that relationship in college,” Fruendt said. “Because of the respect level it built up, that’s why I’m here today. I’m thankful to them that they feel the same way.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.