Freshman guard Armaan Franklin tipped the ball away from senior guard Matt Johnson and took off to the other side of the court. As Franklin corralled the ball, he crossed over to his left splitting two defenders and threw a bounce pass to fellow freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Even though Jackson-Davis wasn’t able to finish the fast-break score, it gave us a glimpse of Franklin’s playmaking ability.
For better or for worse, Franklin was the best player on the court for IU during the first half.
While that’s encouraging since the Hoosiers will rely upon Franklin to give productive minutes off the bench this season, it’s also concerning since he should never be in the position to be given that title.
But the fact that Franklin raised some eyebrows in IU’s exhibition game against Gannon University leads to the question: Did IU head coach Archie Miller strike gold again with an undervalued guard recruit?
Last season it was then-freshman guard Rob Phinisee who stood out despite the lower ranking in IU’s recruiting class. Phinisee came to IU as a four-star recruit ranked No. 135 in his class according to 247Sports. This season, Franklin came to Bloomington as a three-star recruit ranked No. 151 in the country.
Phinisee surprised many by opening last season as the starting point guard for IU and became a rock for the Hoosiers on both sides of the court.
While Franklin isn’t expected to take on such a large role as quickly as Phinisee did, the freshman from Indianapolis led the way for the Hoosiers in their lone exhibition game of the 2019-20 season.
Franklin led IU with 34 minutes, eight rebounds and four assists all while playing point guard — a position he hasn’t practiced.
“Armaan is the one guy that even surprises me a little bit,” Miller said. “He’s been very, very good in our two live action games and played out of position tonight for 30 minutes. I mean he hasn’t learned one play at point guard and started the game at point guard tonight.”
The biggest thing that impressed about Franklin’s performance was his ability to create plays for himself.
One of the biggest question marks for IU going into this season has been if there is anyone outside of senior guard Devonte Green that could create offense for the Hoosiers. Tonight, Franklin looked to be a candidate to join that shallow group of Hoosiers.
Despite only scoring 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting, Franklin was consistently able to break down his defender one-on-one and get to the hole.
While he wasn’t the most efficient finisher, the fact that Franklin was able to create offense while playing in a lineup that lacked offensive firepower should give confidence to the second group of rotation players. Maybe all won’t be lost for IU when Green and junior guard Al Durham have to take a breather.
“I’m proud of him because at the end of the day he’ll do what you ask him to do,” Miller said. “He works at it but by no mistake is it by design. He’s going to be at his best when he’s with somebody.”
If this is the type of performance Franklin can produce while playing out of position and with a little help from his surrounding cast, IU might have a special player on its hands.
Many have criticized Miller for the talent he brought in with the 2019 recruiting class but maybe we aren’t giving the third-year head coach enough credit.
First impressions are important, and Franklin has made a strong one on the IU faithful in his performances against Marquette University and Gannon to open the season.
It’s been awhile for IU, but maybe they’ve sneakily struck gold once again.
