University of North Texas Athletics
Former Duncanville Star Signs With NT Hoops
4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A 6-foot-5 Parade All-America fourth-team selection as a senior at Duncanville, Franklin was a consensus four-star rated recruit and spent two seasons at Oklahoma State. Coming out of high school, Scout.com listed Franklin as the No. 9 small forward and the No. 43 rated player overall in the country.
"We are extremely excited about the addition of Roger Franklin to our basketball program," said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. "I think the qualities of his game will truly enhance our team. What he will bring, along with his impact on both ends of the floor, is his leadership skills. We look forward to welcoming him to the Mean Green family."
With averages of 18.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a senior, Franklin was named to the Dallas Morning News All-Area team and was named the District 7-5A MVP. He was the catalyst for Duncanville's 39-0 state title run as a sophomore.
Franklin appeared in 56 games over the last two seasons for Oklahoma State. He shot 55.2 percent from the floor while averaging 2.6 points per game as a freshman, and upped his rebounding average to 2.3 per game as a sophomore. A defensive stalwart, Franklin tallied 25 steals and 14 blocks in his time with the Cowboys.
In the mold of former Mean Green standouts Rich Young and Quincy Williams, Franklin is known for his leadership on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. He tallied a career-high 13 points against Iowa State and eight rebounds at Texas.
Franklin joins the Mean Green incoming class that was already ranked No. 31 nationally by hoopscooponline.com, and that grade doesn't include Missouri transfer Tony Mitchell, who was the country's No. 12 player of 2010.
North Texas will take the court in 2011-12 with four other players ranked inside the state's top 70 according to texashoops.com - Jordan Williams (7), Chris Jones (24), Forrest Robinson (32) and Trey Norris (70). Casper College guard Brandan Walton, a Region IX All-Tournament selection, also joins North Texas in the fall.
