Guard - Ian Franks
College of Wooster 
2007 - 2011

All-American selections: 2010 (4th), 2011 (1st)

All-Region selections: 2009 (3rd), 2010 (Player of the Year), 2011 (Player of the Year)

Conference MVPs: 2010, 2011

NCAA Tournament appearances: 2008 (1st), 2009 (2nd), 2010 (Sweet 16), 2011 (national runner-up)

From the archives

• Franks keys Fighting Scots' rally into title game (March 2011)
• From walk-on to All-American (March 2011)
• Franks' late-game heroics help No. 1 Wooster (January 2011)
• Video: Franks breaks Gators' hearts with buzzer-beater (Decemeber 2010) (Facebook)

What others say: "Ian was a tremendous all-around player for us. He was extremely versatile as an offensive player as he handled the ball as a point guard, shot very effectively from three-point range, and was excellent at scoring around the basket by posting up and especially at driving to the basket. Ian was an extremely intelligent player. He was an outstanding leader and competitor who made his teammates better players and willed his team to many wins when our team faced adversity.” – Steve Moore, former Wooster head basketball coach

In their own words: "I was very lucky to play with some really great players in my four years. Their ability to shoot and score from anywhere really opened up a lot of driving lanes and opportunities for me to create shots for myself and for them. Our teams were also tight knit and extremely unselfish, never caring who scored the most points but only about our team success. All of these things culminated in success for both me individually and our team as a whole. What we accomplished was far more important and meaningful to me than what I was able to accomplish individually. I’m just really glad I was able to contribute and be part of something special."

Where are they now: Works in sales at Worthington Industries

Career synopsis: Some Division III all-stars were prized recruits pursued out of high school by their college coach-to-be. Ian Franks was the opposite: He recruited Wooster.

As described in our 2011 feature, Franks came to Wooster for a campus visit during his senior year of high school at South Central in Greenwich, Ohio. He introduced himself to the Fighting Scots coaching staff who confessed they thought the baby-faced Franks was a high school freshman or sophomore. Franks joined Moore's consistently excellent program as a true walk-on, without being recruited. He played point guard for the Scots' junior varsity program while suiting up for the varsity games. Eventually Moore inserted him into the rotation and Franks was the second man off the bench by the end of the season.

Franks continued to grow, physically and as a player, adding weight and a few inches via a growth spurt. He became the Scots starting point guard; a two-time All-American; and is one of three players in Wooster history to notch 1,500 points and 300 assists. 

One of Franks' top performances came in the 2011 national semifinals against Williams. Trailing by 17 with less than 10 minutes to play, the Scots scored 17 straight capped by Franks' game-tying three-pointer. Franks scored off a steal to tie the game again at 67 and, though he fouled out with 66 seonds left, the Scots completed the rally, 73-71, with Franks leading the team in points (24), rebounds (nine) and assists (four). Franks also played well the next day, scoring 33 points when St. Thomas downed the Scots for the national championship.

When asked about his career, Franks is eager to share the credit, just as he was back in 2011. "I would give the majority of the credit for my individual accolades to both the coaching staff and my teammates. Even though I wasn’t a player that Coach Moore or Coach Cline had recruited, they really gave me a fair shot to go out there and prove myself my freshman year. That gave me a ton of confidence that Coach Moore noticed my progression and encouraged it. ... Once I was an established player, they never let me get complacent. They always pushed me to become better whether it was working with my shot after practices or encouraging additional strength workouts with them. I really can’t say enough about what they meant to my development as both a player and a person."