<strong>L</strong>ast year, Franklin boys basketball coach Brad Dickey said he didn’t have a lot of great players, but he had a great team.
“They were good athletes and strong people,” Dickey said. “It was a lot of fun being with those guys for a couple of years.”
Of course, the circle of life in high school sports dictates that everyone leaves eventually, and the Grizzly Cubs will be in reloading mode this winter following the graduation of six seniors.
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Though Franklin lost more than 80 percent of its scoring with those seniors, Dickey insists that the cupboard was not left bare, and the coach is quite excited to work with his new group of Grizzly Cubs.
It’s a young and relatively undersized roster, but the coach feels he has an abundance of talent and plans to counter any size issues by going full throttle as often as he can.
“We play as fast as we can possibly play,” Dickey said. “We show some discipline and run sets and try to be under control when we need to be, and when running works, we run. And we never assume that we can’t run; we always play as fast as we can.”
Leading the effort will be a trio of senior returnees — guards Tyler Craft and Jacob Rockey and forward Hunter Gross. Those three will be joined by a bevy of youngsters, including sophomore guards Cory Richards, Reece Thompson and Blaine Wentzel. Richards in particular figures to make an impact.
Freshmen Drew Byerly and Jake Jones could also contribute by bringing a little bit of size and muscle to the rotation.
“Because we lack size and they’re doing a really good job right now, I figure they’re going to have to help us somewhere,” Dickey said.
The young players seem to be picking things up quickly — the coach says that they haven’t hit the bull’s-eye yet in terms of learning the system but that “they’re in the target area.”
After finishing one road loss to Martinsville away from an outright Mid-State Conference title and reaching the sectional final last year, the Grizzly Cubs are likely to be underdogs in a few more games this season.
That’s a position Dickey doesn’t seem to mind being in.
“Looking at our league, you know those schools are going to have big, strong kids coming up from their JV, so that’s going to be a challenge for us,” he said.
“But you would think that (other teams will) be going through some growing pains, too, so if the timing’s right, we could have a lot of success.
“You would think that we’re going to have some hard nights, but being talented and heady makes you think we may surprise people. So I think it’s going to be very entertaining.”
Even more so if the Grizzly Cubs can keep winning.
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Date;Opponent;Time
Nov. 22;at Center Grove;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 2;Decatur Central;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 3;at Seymour;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9;at Greenwood;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 10;Hauser;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 17;at Shelbyville;8 p.m.
Dec. 28;at Rushville tournament;TBA
Jan. 7;at Mooresville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 10-14;Johnson County tournament at Whiteland;TBA
Jan. 20;at Whiteland;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 21;at New Palestine;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27;Martinsville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28;at Southport;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 2;Brown County;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 7;Columbus North;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 11;Columbus East;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 14;at Roncalli;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17;Plainfield;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21;at Perry Meridian;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24;at Jennings County;7:30 p.m.
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Coach: Brad Dickey
Last year: 17-7 overall, 5-1 Mid-State Conference; lost to Franklin Central in Martinsville Sectional final
Who’s back: Tyler Craft, Sr. F (1.7 ppg); Hunter Gross, Sr. F (5.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 29 blocks); Jacob Rockey, Sr. G (3.6 ppg, 2.8 apg)
Who’s gone: Jarrett Bertsch, Andrew Hartkorn, Cameron Smith, Justin Beasley, Cameron Rigley, Bryce Wentzel
New kids on the block: Drew Byerly, Fr. G; Blake Dicken, Jr. G; Jake Jones, Fr. C; Cory Richards, So. G; Reece Thompson, So. G; Blaine Wentzel, So. G
Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs lost six seniors from a team that tied for first in the Mid-State Conference and reached the sectional final. Roughly 52 of the 62 points per game that Franklin scored last year must be replaced — but there is plenty of young talent ready to fill the void. Dickey raves about the potential of Richards, and there are several other freshmen and sophomores likely to make contributions. There may be some growing pains, but Franklin almost certainly won’t be boring. Overlook this bunch at your own peril.
Dickey says: "We have some good players. They’re young and inexperienced, a little shorter than a basketball team wants to be. But they are talented, and I think we’ll have a really fun year because of it, because we’ve got shooters and ball handlers. Sometimes it’s just hard to match up when you’re young and undersized; that’s the main thing."
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