Towson was ‘the best choice’ for Franklin
Everyone had an opinion.
Those seemingly “hundreds” of phone calls and text messages Mount Carmel's Troy Franklin Jr. received Monday morning indicated as much.
Some advocated for the warm weather, Disney World appeal of Central Florida. Others liked St. Bonaventure, just an hour and a half drive from Buffalo, but in a small town that lives and breathes Bonnies basketball. Toledo and George Mason garnered their fair share of support as well.
But in the end, Franklin picked the one school that recruited him from the beginning, the one school that didn’t fit his initial requirement of getting away from Baltimore for college, and the one school that offered everything he was looking for in a university.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound point guard, verbally committed to play basketball for Towson University on Monday.
Some might look at the choice and think Towson won out because the campus is just a 25-minute drive from Franklin’s home. Not true, says the Mount Carmel senior.
“At first I really kind of wanted to get away,” Franklin said. “I thought I didn’t want to be around Baltimore. I thought I wanted to start fresh.”
But as Franklin learned more about Towson, the urge to leave Baltimore behind was outweighed by the countless positives about the Tigers' program.
“If it was located in California I think I still would’ve went to Towson,” Franklin said. “When I visited there, they brought everything to me and showed me everything that had to be shown.”
Showing Franklin ‘everything’ included heavy emphasis on academics. An honor student at Mount Carmel, Franklin has his eyes set on studying business management and pursuing a career in entrepreneurship after his basketball playing days are over.
On his official visit to Towson in October, the academic support staff laid out a detailed plan for Franklin, and apprised him of the many advantages of a Towson business degree. The academic staff discussed available courses, work study programs, potential internship opportunities and job placement following graduation.
“Some of their business programs [are among] the best in the country,” Franklin said.
On the basketball side of things, the Tigers have gone through their struggles in Pat Kennedy’s three years on the job, but have shown marked improvement each season. Last season, the Tigers went 15-17 overall and 8-10 in Colonial Athletic Association play – a far cry from Kennedy’s first year at the helm when his squad went 5-24.
After sending four teams to postseason play in each of the last three seasons, the CAA is already past up-and-coming status – something duly noted by Franklin. Now it’ll be partially up to him to see to it that the Tigers take that next step.
Franklin, who averaged 14.9 points, 4.4 assists and 2 steals per game as a junior at Mount Carmel, expects to contribute, but acknowledges that nothing will be automatically handed to him. Still, he’s ready to do what he can to help the team.
“I just want to win,” Franklin said. “I think they expect me to come in and lead the team and basically distribute the ball and make sure everyone’s happy.”
There’s much for Franklin to be happy about as well. He’ll have some company from the city when he joins the Tigers in 2008 in Walbrook grads Rocky Coleman and Rodney Spruill. He can look forward to playing in a new arena at some point during his career, likely by his sophomore year. And he has the satisfaction of being able to play for four more years in front of friends and family.
While location wasn’t close to being a deciding factor in Franklin’s recruitment, proximity is something, over time, which he’s come to embrace.
“It feels good to be close to home,” Franklin said. “It’s an honor to represent Baltimore and the city’s school. … Towson was the best choice.”
