NABC Honors Three Scots, Including Franks as 1st-Team All-American

Three members of The College of Wooster men's basketball program were recognized by the National Basketball Coaches Association, highlighted by Ian Franks being voted on to the organization's All-America First Team, it announced in a news release issued Wednesday night. Franks was also the Great Lakes District Player of the Year, while teammate Bryan Wickliffe received second-team all-district accolades and Steve Moore was selected the district's co-coach of the year.

Franks, previously named the D3hoops.com Great Lakes Region Player of the Year, is just the third in Wooster's tradition-rich program to collect first-team All-American honors from the NABC, with the others being Tom Port (2006-07) and Bryan Nelson (2002-03). This season, Franks, a junior guard listed at 6-4 and 190 pounds, guided the Fighting Scots to a sixth-straight North Coast Athletic Conference championship by averaging 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 0.8 steals. The highly-efficient offensive player connected on 52.4 percent of his shots from the field, including 40.9 percent on 3-pointers, and 77.3 percent at the free throw line, where he spent a lot of time with 143 makes – the fifth-most in team annals.

Going into his senior season, Franks has an opportunity to become just the seventh in school history to reach 1,500 career points, currently with 1,073. After playing primarily on the jayvee team as a first-year, he has served as the squad's leading scorer the last two years, averaging 16.7 points. Franks also could finish among Wooster's top-10 in free throws made and assists.

Wickliffe, also a junior, effectively utilized his 6-5, 215-pound frame to be a force for the Scots on the inside. He dropped in 11.2 points per game coming on a .607 field-goal percentage and a .731 free throw percentage, and pulled down 7.2 rebounds. All four of those numbers were career highs, and he also contributed 1.0 assists and 0.8 steals while tallying six double-doubles on the year.

For his career, Wickliffe has 851 points and 537 boards, which gives him the chance to become the 35th 1,000-point scorer in team history and just the 11th to join the 750-rebound club next season, and his .568 field-goal percentage is currently eighth-best by a Wooster player.

Moore, who shares the 2009-10 Great Lakes Coach-of-the-Year award with Grove City College's Steve Lamie, is now a five-time recipient of the NABC district honor during a 23-year tenure at the helm of the Scots. After starting 2-3 against a highly-challenging schedule, Wooster won 21 of its next 23, securing the NCAC regular season (15-1) and tournament titles, and then prevailed in a pair of home games in the NCAA Div. III Championships before losing in the round of 16 for a final 25-6 record.