Indiana University Athletics
Franklin Shines Against North Alabama
12/15/2020 1:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - When Indiana beat Stanford 79-63 in the Camping World Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C., just more than 10 days ago, IU head coach Archie Miller talked about the toughness shown by sophomore Armaan Franklin, who scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out five assists while playing all 40 minutes.
In particular, Miller wanted to talk about Franklin's defensive effort in the win.
"Becoming one of the best defenders we have," Miller said. "He's guarding bigger players, smaller players, all over the floor. He's accountable right now. He's playing much tougher. … To me, he's growing up, getting bigger, older, stronger. He's a good player, and when he plays like that today, we're good."
During IU's 87-52 win over North Alabama Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Franklin showed what he's capable of on the offensive end.
Franklin finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and he added four rebounds and five assists to go along with one block and three steals. All of that production came in 23 minutes of play, and those stat stuffers came along with his usual tough defense.
"I give Armaan a lot of credit," Miller said. "He continues to evolve as a player for us. I was really happy for him to see the ball go through the net. He has worked hard on it, and I think that's going to be the Armaan we get used to seeing, consistently being able to knock in those open ones. When he has that, with the way he is defending for us and the way he's creating, he is turning into a terrific player."
Franklin doesn't get the same amount of attention as some of his teammates. Trayce Jackson-Davis is a star who pops up on most lists of major college basketball award candidates. Freshman guard Anthony Leal was Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana as a senior in high school. Another freshman guard, Khristian Lander, was one of the top-ranked recruits in the country in the Class of 2020. Aljami Durham, Race Thompson, Rob Phinisee… they all get more pub than Franklin.
But if Franklin keeps turning in the kind of confident, quality outings he has over the course of the past couple of weeks, everyone will have to take notice.
Rightfully so.
Franklin isn't flashy, which is why he runs a bit under the radar. He does the little things on both ends of the court—delivering the ball to his teammates in a position to score or re-routing a cutting player to disrupt opposing offenses. He has quick feet, and he's willing to be physical against bigger players.
It was his 3-point shooting vs. North Alabama that raised eyebrows. Franklin's five made threes were two more than the previous team high for a player in a single game this season, and he helped spark the Hoosiers to finally find their stroke from the perimeter. Indiana finally broke out from beyond the arc, going 13-of-33 overall, and Franklin, Phinisee, and Lander all made at least two.
"It was just getting into the rhythm and stepping into (my shot) with confidence," Franklin said. "You see one go in, it gets you going for the next one and the next one."
Franklin's teammates weren't surprised to see him get hot.
"We've been working on making each other more confident and making our passes on time and on target," Leal said. "We knew he was capable of it. We know we're all capable of it."
For a team that had not made more than five threes in a game this season, knocking down 13 is huge from a confidence standpoint. It's also a much-needed addition to the Hoosiers' offense.
"When the ball goes in the basket, it just takes the pressure off everyone," Miller said. "Overall, if we get a better-quality shot, we continue to become a good passing team, guys continue to be dialed in on where they're getting them in rhythm and the rhythm catches, we can be a pretty good shooting team. One big thing is we're going to have to open the floor a little bit more and be more than willing to be able to shoot the ball."
Franklin won't be expected to lead the charge every game, but he does plan on remaining aggressive.
"I always come into games, especially this year, looking to be aggressive, but it's not always about scoring for me," Franklin said. "I think this game, I was just taking open looks and taking what the defense was giving me, knocking down shots, and still being able to get my teammates looks."
In particular, Miller wanted to talk about Franklin's defensive effort in the win.
"Becoming one of the best defenders we have," Miller said. "He's guarding bigger players, smaller players, all over the floor. He's accountable right now. He's playing much tougher. … To me, he's growing up, getting bigger, older, stronger. He's a good player, and when he plays like that today, we're good."
During IU's 87-52 win over North Alabama Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Franklin showed what he's capable of on the offensive end.
Franklin finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and he added four rebounds and five assists to go along with one block and three steals. All of that production came in 23 minutes of play, and those stat stuffers came along with his usual tough defense.
"I give Armaan a lot of credit," Miller said. "He continues to evolve as a player for us. I was really happy for him to see the ball go through the net. He has worked hard on it, and I think that's going to be the Armaan we get used to seeing, consistently being able to knock in those open ones. When he has that, with the way he is defending for us and the way he's creating, he is turning into a terrific player."
Franklin doesn't get the same amount of attention as some of his teammates. Trayce Jackson-Davis is a star who pops up on most lists of major college basketball award candidates. Freshman guard Anthony Leal was Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana as a senior in high school. Another freshman guard, Khristian Lander, was one of the top-ranked recruits in the country in the Class of 2020. Aljami Durham, Race Thompson, Rob Phinisee… they all get more pub than Franklin.
But if Franklin keeps turning in the kind of confident, quality outings he has over the course of the past couple of weeks, everyone will have to take notice.
Rightfully so.
Franklin isn't flashy, which is why he runs a bit under the radar. He does the little things on both ends of the court—delivering the ball to his teammates in a position to score or re-routing a cutting player to disrupt opposing offenses. He has quick feet, and he's willing to be physical against bigger players.
It was his 3-point shooting vs. North Alabama that raised eyebrows. Franklin's five made threes were two more than the previous team high for a player in a single game this season, and he helped spark the Hoosiers to finally find their stroke from the perimeter. Indiana finally broke out from beyond the arc, going 13-of-33 overall, and Franklin, Phinisee, and Lander all made at least two.
"It was just getting into the rhythm and stepping into (my shot) with confidence," Franklin said. "You see one go in, it gets you going for the next one and the next one."
Franklin's teammates weren't surprised to see him get hot.
"We've been working on making each other more confident and making our passes on time and on target," Leal said. "We knew he was capable of it. We know we're all capable of it."
For a team that had not made more than five threes in a game this season, knocking down 13 is huge from a confidence standpoint. It's also a much-needed addition to the Hoosiers' offense.
"When the ball goes in the basket, it just takes the pressure off everyone," Miller said. "Overall, if we get a better-quality shot, we continue to become a good passing team, guys continue to be dialed in on where they're getting them in rhythm and the rhythm catches, we can be a pretty good shooting team. One big thing is we're going to have to open the floor a little bit more and be more than willing to be able to shoot the ball."
Franklin won't be expected to lead the charge every game, but he does plan on remaining aggressive.
"I always come into games, especially this year, looking to be aggressive, but it's not always about scoring for me," Franklin said. "I think this game, I was just taking open looks and taking what the defense was giving me, knocking down shots, and still being able to get my teammates looks."
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