Kevin Freeman met with reporters this morning at the XL Center to discuss his new position as assistant director of men’s basketball administration. Freeman, 33, is a former Husky captain and member of the 1999 NCAA National Champions.

“It’s an opportunity to get back here,” said Freeman. “It’s full-circle for me. It’s a dream come true to come back here in the fold with UConn.”

He said his role will largely be as a mentor to the players, along with helping director of basketball administration Karl Hobbs with daily activities.

“A lot of the academic stuff,” Freeman said of his duties, “help a lot of guys in a mentorship role as far as degree completion, serve as a liaison to compliance, a lot of compliance issues … I think I can help them with a lot of off-court issues that (the media) might not see, and just being a positive student-athlete.”

Ultimately, he hopes this is his first step on the ladder up to being a head coach.

“Coaching is definitely my ultimate goal, but first you’ve got to experience some of it to see how far you want to go, what you want to do,” he said. “I’ll take it step by step.”

Freeman has spent the past 11 seasons playing overseas in Italy, Australia, Greece, South Korea, China, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela.

“Overseas is really tough. Eleven years over there, being away from my family nine months a year, it takes its toll on you. A true blessing came to me with this opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it.”