Franklin guard Micah Davis, right, drives to the basket in a Grizzly Cubs’ victory at Greenwood this season.
Daily Journal file photo
Having scored 1,129 career points as Franklin’s go-to guard, Adrian Moss is suited to play the back-in-the-day game as impressively as anyone.
What’s going on right now isn’t bad, either.
In his third season coaching at his alma mater, Moss, 35, guided the Grizzly Cubs to their first 10-1 start since the 1996-97 team reached the championship game of the Hinkle semistate in the last season of single-class basketball.
“I think it’s a different feeling. It means a little bit more,” said Moss about leading the program he starred for from 2004-07. “I’m most pleased with the character of the group of guys we have. I’ve appreciated the leadership and maturity. It’s fun to coach a group of kids that get it.”
Sporting a 10-1 mark after routing Mooresville on Friday, Franklin is at Whiteland tonight for the first round of the annual Johnson County tournament.
Moss admits he would like his squad to be peaking in March, but this week is also extremely important.
“From our point of view, winning county is one of our goals. That’s all we’re concerned about,” Moss said. “We’re trying to take it one game at a time. We try to put all our marbles in one game, and then move on to the next game.”
Senior guard Micah Davis continues to strengthen his bid for a spot on the Indiana All-Star team this summer, averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Backcourt mate Wyatt Nickleson, another three-year starter, has been his usual steady self with norms of 12.6 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals.
As sophomores, Davis and Nickleson were key contributors for a team that ventured to the championship game of the Class 4A regional at Seymour — a late-season run that gave fans a taste of what could possibly lie ahead.
Neither player, Moss notes, has been subbed out during a game this season unless Franklin holds a sizable advantage late.
The Grizzly Cubs’ other starters are 6-foot-6 junior Kolt Nelson (8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), 6-6 senior Ryder Street (6.0, 2.6) and senior guard Grant Hunter (6.3 ppg). The first two players off the bench are 6-3 Jayden Razor and 6-2 Elijah Zahm, both seniors.
“We’re a very talented group, but we’re playing more together than last year,” Hunter said. “We have a lot of seniors, and it’s our third year together. It definitely makes a difference because they’re not just your teammates anymore. They’re close friends.”
In Davis, a multifaceted southpaw capable of impacting games in so many ways and fast approaching 1,000 career points (he has 974 entering tonight), Franklin has one of its most talented players in years.
How the senior’s teammates perform their roles is every bit as important.
“We’ve learned to play alongside of him, but (Davis) takes over when he needs to,” Hunter said. “We’re above any jealousy at this point. Everyone knows what they have to do to help the team win.”
Franklin’s nine-game win streak is its longest since the 2012-13 Grizzly Cubs bounced back from a 0-2 start with 11 consecutive victories. The team’s 58.2 scoring average is the highest in six seasons; the 45.9 it allows is the stingiest in 11.
And yet, Moss, who knows better than anyone the potential of this group, can point to areas where the Cubs as a team — and, in some cases, individually — have yet to achieve their potential.
“We’re playing pretty good basketball, but I still feel there’s more of an upside to this team,” Moss said. “I know we have another level we can hit.”
IF YOU GO
Johnson County tournament
Tuesday
Franklin at Whiteland, 7:30 p.m.
Indian Creek at Greenwood Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Greenwood at Edinburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
At Center Grove
Franklin/Whiteland vs. Indian Creek/GCA, 6 p.m.
Greenwood/Edinburgh at Center Grove, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
At Center Grove
Championship, 7 p.m.
