Fred Jonzen remembers the 10
Published: 1/25/2011 10:40 AM
Last Modified: 1/25/2011 10:40 AM
The 10th anniversary of a plane crash that killed 10 men, including two Oklahoma State basketball players, is Thursday. The Cowboys continued the 2000-01 season after the plane crash and reached the NCAA Tournament.
The Tulsa World caught up with selected members of the team, including Fred Jonzen, who participated in a question-and-answer session.
Jonzen, a 6-foot-10 forward from Uppsala, Sweden, was a sophomore starter on a senior-heavy team that reached the Elite Eight the season before the plane crash. He was a cornerstone of Cowboy teams that reached the NCAA Tournament each of the next two seasons.
Former Baylor coach Dave Bliss said this about Jonzen after a game that occurred one week prior to the plane crash: “The one thing that creates problems is Jonzen in the high post. He is a terrific player. He’s like playing on the playground with your dad. He just gets the ball and throws it to the open man.”
Jonzen’s roommate that season was Nate Fleming, a player who perished in the crash. After the crash, football player Sky Rylant, a close friend of Fleming, became Jonzen’s roommate.
Jonzen now is living in Sweden with wife, Jessie. She’s from San Clemente, Calif. and met Jonzen through a mutual friend. She’s a full-time mom and takes care of their son, Benjamin, who was born Jan. 5. Jonzen still plays basketball, but also does sales and marketing work for a team, Uppsala Basket.
What have you done with your life in the 10 years since the plane crash season?
“After graduating in 2002, I have played professional basketball in Spain, Greece and Italy until I moved back home in 2007. I played the 2007-08 season in Sweden and then went back to Spain in ‘08-’09. Since the ‘09-’10 season, I’m back home in Uppsala again.”
What significant events have occurred in your life since OSU?
“Marrying my wife and of course having a son. 2009 was big to when I took the step into a ‘normal’ life by starting to work a ‘normal’ job. Basketball will only take you so far and I was very excited about starting a new life that gave me a different stimulus than what basketball has offered. Life as a professional athlete can become rather boring after awhile and I needed something new in my life. Even though I still play basketball I’m closing in on my final years of my career.”
How did you guys make it through the crash season and what difficulties did you encounter?
“It was obviously very hard to get through, especially right after it happened. I couldn’t sleep or eat and it felt like all the energy had been drawn out of me the first few weeks. But eventually the one thing that had brought us all together at OSU was basketball and it made perfect sense to continue doing what we were there to do. That was the best way to honor those guys.”
How difficult was it to get on a plane to go to the next road game at Nebraska?
“I don’t remember that much from that game and the little I remember was that they offered whoever that wanted to (the opportunity) to take a bus up to Lincoln. For me it wasn’t weird at all to get on a plane again, which might sound weird.”
In what ways are you still affected by the tragedy of that season or does time really heal all wounds?
“I’m not affected that much anymore. I think about them a lot. But when people ask me these types of questions -- what have you learned, etc, -- I don’t really know what to say. What is there to learn really? Ten people were killed way before their time and there’s absolutely nothing good to take away from that. A classic response is ‘I don’t take life for granted.’ Well, what does that really mean? I live my life as normal as I can and I think it looks the same way whether that accident had happened or not. It was a tragic accident that took away 10 great guys and it shouldn’t have happened. (It’s) as simple as that. The one thing it teaches you I guess is that after any type of grief situation, the best way (to deal with it) is to learn how to move on and continue living your life. That’s what we were trying to do that year and that’s what we all have been doing the past 10 years. We definitely miss all those guys but we had to learn to move on and not look back.
“There’s a quote I really think is perfect for what I’m trying to say: ‘Sometimes you need what’s familiar to help you face what isn’t.’ (That’s from) ‘The Horse Boy’ by Rupert Isaacson. There doesn’t always have to be a lesson learned in tragedies. Continue living your life and make the best out of your life. Do the things that are ‘familiar’ to you. That will make the most sense to you moving forward.
What should people know about you now that you haven’t already been asked about?
“That my four years at OSU were four of the greatest years in my life and I owe that so much to OSU and Stillwater community. A lot of times those things are said without people really meaning that, but I always felt, and I still do, that what makes Oklahoma such a great state to live in is the people. (They are) very accommodating and genuinely nice. My wife and I will move back to the States eventually. However, I haven’t convinced her, being a California girl, that Oklahoma will be the place we’re going. I’ll continue working on it!”
--Jimmie Tramel.
Written by
Jimmie Tramel
Sports Writer
