In a D-III full of non-scholarship players, walk-ons by the standards of a scholarship fan base, Ian Franks was not recruited by Wooster, making him a true walk-on. Wooster athletics file photo

By Brian Falzarano
Columnist, D3hoops.com

Inevitably, Steve Moore listens to the same complaints each season. All of the former high school superstars he recruits to The College of Wooster these days hope, even expect, to become the next Ian Franks, only to question when they will finally get some playing time.

And each time one of his student-athletes get on their soapbox, Moore instinctively tells the tale of Franks, one of the most unlikely All-Americans in Division III men's basketball history.

“We use that all the time,” the 24th-year coach said. “We even tell the young guys talk to Ian about it. Ask him what he thinks about how he developed. I think that's happened. I think the guys can see the example.”

• More playoff coverage
• Middlebury feature
• Live in Salem: Hoopsville | Audio | Video
• All-Region teams

Coming out of small South Central High School in Greenwich, Ohio, the slight, baby-faced point guard actually recruited Wooster. Franks came down for a campus tour his senior year and came across “shy” to Moore and his coaching staff – they actually thought their future floor leader was a high school freshman or sophomore.

Once a walk-on, Franks is now running the show for a Fighting Scots' squad making its third NCAA Division III Final Four appearance and first since 2007. He is a two-time reigning North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year poised to become a two-time D3hoops.com All-American, a decorated individual talent who thinks only in terms of team.

“Those are great things, but the thing I wanted was to come here and win and share in the great tradition,” Franks said. “I wanted to be a part of that and be on a winning team. I never imagined the individual records.”

When Franks arrived at Wooster, he only wanted an opportunity. As a freshman he suited up for varsity games while willingly accepting his spot as the junior varsity point guard. He listened to the counsel of Moore and his coaching staff, kept quiet and, most importantly, continually improved.

Around midseason, Franks earned a varsity promotion. And soon after, he emerged as the Fighting Scots' seventh man, impacting a late-season victory over Wittenberg and making a favorable impression in a first-round NCAA loss to eventual national champion Washington University before earning the team's Most Improved Player award.

“I thought i could play sophomore year, maybe junior year. I didn't really know how the program would work,” Franks said. “It was great to be able to contribute as a freshman.”

After adding muscle in the weight room and a few inches because of a growth spurt, the 6-foot-4 Franks began to “blossom” before Moore's eyes during an offseason team trip to Italy prior to his sophomore season, seizing another new opportunity as Wooster's starting point guard. He averaged 15.5 points, first-team All-NCAC accolades and garnered a spot on the D3hoops.com third-team All-Great Lakes squad.

Entering the Final Four, Franks has poured in 1,650 points, good for fifth on the Fighting Scots' scoring leaderboard. Also, he is one of three Wooster players with more than 1,500 points and 300 assists in his career.

However, Wooster's most unlikely All-American is all about his teammates. In addition to sharing a Rubik's Cube competition with some of them – he proudly boasts of winning a timed “race,” solving the puzzle in 70 seconds – he also shares a house with six fellow Fighting Scots, where he says, “We squeeze in here, but we sacrifice size of rooms to be able to hang out with each other all the time.” (Video included at the end of the story.)

Team chemistry is high among the reasons Moore gets to coach Franks for up to two more games, Friday's national semifinal against Williams and potentially a national championship game Saturday against either Middlebury or St. Thomas.

Regardless of how the final chapter ends, the coach will continue to tell the story of his onetime walk-on who became a two-time All-American.

“We've had a lot of guys make improvement, JV players who became all-conference. But never to this extent,” Moore said. “It's a remarkable story because in Division III, even though we don't offer scholarships, we work extremely hard in recruiting.

“But for a guy to be an All-American and a two-time player of the year without being recruited in this day and age is just remarkable.”