Indiana Basketball: Armaan Franklin shines, to play bigger role than expected

The freshman guard continues to standout for the Indiana basketball program and will be looked on to play a bigger role this year than expected.

The Hoosiers got off to a great start in their 2019-20 campaign when they took down Western Illinois easily on Tuesday night. This was not only a great start for the Indiana basketball program, but also some of the newest additions to the roster.

While Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Brunk, and even Jerome Hunter were receiving a lot of the preseason recognition in the summer and early parts of the fall, Armaan Franklin was quietly turning himself into a player that would make it difficult for Archie Miller to take off the floor.

Franklin wasn’t a five-star, wasn’t a McDonald’s All-American, and though he had a terrific high school career which helped him to the Indianapolis City Player of the Year last season, he was still underrated by many, including the recruiting analysts.

Last night was his first, of what should be, many starts in his Indiana career, and while that was an accomplishment already, it’s his play that has a lot of people talking.

Rewind to the ‘secret scrimmage’ against Marquette. The Hoosiers were without Devonte Green and Rob Phinisee, and after Al Durham banged his knee, Franklin was the lone guard in the Indiana lineup for the remaining eight minutes of the game. Not only did he lead the Hoosiers with 14 points, but he did so effectively on 4-of-7 from the field, including nailing two threes.

Fast forward to the Gannon exhibition, and another solid performance was turned in by the freshman of 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, and four assists in 31 minutes. Another very good and effective performance as Green and Durham sat out.

Though there was a lot of talk about his two previous performances, there were still questions about what he would do in the regular season, and more importantly how involved he would be in the rotation.

With Green missing the opener, it gave Franklin another opporurntiy to build on his previous two performances, and Franklin did more than just impress. He proved he is ready for a bigger role and will, again, be tough to keep off of the floor.

While Franklin has impressed with his scoring ability thus far, it was the other parts of his game that stood out on Tuesday. Just 1-of-5 from the field, he didn’t let that impact his play as he led the team with eight assists, but more impressively zero turnovers in 27 minutes.

Whether it was leading the break after grabbing a rebound, which he had five of, or getting the offense set up in the half court, his ability to be effective on the ball translated into Rob Phinisee and Al Durham to seek out their shots. Those two combined for 35 points on 13-of-17 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep.

Nobody is sure how long senior guard Devonte Green will be out, but regardless of when he comes back, Franklin deserves to be on the floor and will continue to see a large amount of minutes with his ability to be another ball handler, and an efficient one at that.

Coming into the season, the backcourt depth was in question, and even though it’s been three ‘games’ and just one regular season game, Franklin’s play proves there is no backcourt issue in Bloomington.