Houston Hoops Wing Mulling Options
Jerayle Franklin, an energetic 6-foot-4, 188-pound swingman from Bay City,
Texas, was one of the more unsung heroes on this summer's Houston Hoops AAU
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squad. But even though he wasn't a headliner on the Hoops, colleges haven't
forgotten about him this fall, and Franklin has a number of options to sort
through.
Franklin has been hearing recently from a whole bunch of schools including
Tulsa, Louisiana-Lafayette, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, UTEP, Air Force, Murray
State, TCU, Colgate, and Texas State (Southwest Texas). His current top five
includes Louisiana-Lafayette, Lamar, Elon, Tulsa, and TCU. He's currently in
the process of setting up his official visits, and already has one planned to
Louisiana-Lafayette the third weekend in October.
Franklin, who wouldn't mind staying in Texas for college, commented on three of
his leaders.
On Louisiana-Lafayette:
"It's a good opportunity to play for Coach Evans, because he was with Arizona
when they made it to the national championship. I'm leaning towards them."
On Tulsa:
"I know they're in the WAC and they go to Hawaii every year. They also come
down to play Rice, so my parents and family could watch me play. They made the
NIT last year too. They haven't offered me yet, but they're coming on strong.
I'd like to visit them without a doubt."
On Elon:
"I'm looking at Elon academic-wise. Their computer information systems program
is one of the top programs out there. I'm looking at academics and not just
basketball, because basketball can stop one day."
Franklin is pretty open when it comes to his decision, but does hope he will
sign in the fall. But he does have some factors that he will consider when
making his choice.
"I want to go to a school based on academics and the coaches," said Franklin.
"If it's in or out of state, I'll need a coach to be a father figure. Of
course, you want to go to a winning program, but if not, then I'll try to be
there to turn around the program."
A versatile player, Franklin can play multiple positions on the basketball
floor. For the Houston Hoops, he often roamed the court, doing a lot of the
dirty work such as rebounding and defending, while picking up points on hustle
and desire. While he plays more of a starring role for his high school team,
his impact is similar.
"He can play all five positions," said Bay City head coach Eddie Nelson. "We
try to make him go all around. He's a good rebounder, but he really does it
all."
Franklin's non-stop style of play, in particular, has been something he credits
to his success.
"If you play hard, everything will come to you," said Franklin. "If you hustle
and play like a madman, everything will come to you."
This season, Franklin intends on continuing to improve his game for the next
level.
"I'm still working on my ball-handling and my outside shot," said Franklin.
"The more I improve on my ball-handling, I can get to the basket easier. And
my outside shot, I want to be more consistent. My defense has also improved
tremendously. I try to be a complete player."
According to his high school coach, if Franklin can also continue improving on
the mental aspects of the game, the sky could be the limit.
"He's got the physical skills," said Nelson. "So he can pretty much do
whatever he wants to. He's going to have to understand the game a little more
and going to have to keep working hard to becoming a better shooter, but all of
that comes with the level of competition."
A great student ("Coaches like my grades," said Franklin), Franklin carries a
weighted 4.5 GPA and has already scored a 950 on the SAT. He is looking to
major in Information Technology in college.
Jed Tai is a senior writer with Hoopville.com