Hylanders assistant coach Dedrick Jenkins is a Ramsey County probation officer who sees kids handed similar circumstances. The difference, he said, is Frisby's choice to stay involved in school and athletics and avoid taking shortcuts through gangs and drugs.
"It just hurts that a young man has to go through what Toby went through," Jenkins said. "But a kid that has that drive to overcome all odds -- you just take your hat off to him."
Jenkins arrived with head coach Willie Braziel in November 2007. They remember Frisby as a large, quiet sophomore who said little and asked for less. Braziel said Frisby wore shoes "that you couldn't even play in," but he could not afford to upgrade. Another sign of trouble came when Frisby was reluctant to turn in an emergency contact card because he did not have a permanent address.
Sophomore year was the height of Frisby's drama. He lived out of an extended-stay hotel in Brooklyn Center for most of the football and basketball seasons. In the spring, his family moved to a shelter in St. Paul, forcing him to rise at 5:30 a.m., so he could take a bus to the light rail station, then catch a second bus from downtown Minneapolis to Columbia Heights.
Frisby went to great lengths to meet other basic needs. Knowing he had to make his meals last longer into the day, he would get the last spot in the lunch line to ensure himself the best chance at larger portions. And he learned the value of a dollar, saving whatever money he had in order to "always have at least $5 in my pocket."
Frisby's family moved several months later to a St. Paul apartment. While his surroundings improved, the commute remained an obstacle. So Frisby stayed with a friend whose family owned a house in Columbia Heights. Last winter, he moved in with his girlfriend and her family near the school.
Some of those details will come as a surprise to many teammates, who are likely learning of them for the first time. D'Karlos Craig, a football and basketball teammate who knows more than most about Frisby, said he thinks of him as a brother.
"We're really close," Craig said. "My mom, my dad, everybody thinks of him as a family member."