By Jim Irish
Photos by Dustyn Werner
Anderson boys basketball coach Eric Swanson had a strategy to stymie Cedar Creek’s Kenji Franklin, a 6-foot-6 senior averaging 25 points a game.
Keep the ball out of Franklin’s hands.
”We were sending two guys at him all night long,” Swanson said about Franklin, a four-year starter. “We didn’t do a good job of playing with our hands. We picked up a lot of fouls. He lived at the free throw line tonight.”
"It was a great night to open district. We had two turnovers in the second half, and that was huge for us. That was really the difference in the game."
-- Cedar Creek coach Chris Young
It proved futile as Franklin scored 24 points in a 57-51 victory in a District 24-5A opener Friday at the Eagles’ gym.
”It was a great night to open up district,” first-year Cedar Creek coach Chris Young said. “We had two turnovers in the second half, and that was huge for us. That was really the difference in the game.”
Anderson got part of its strategy right. Franklin hit only 3-of-7 shots from the field, including a three-pointer. But he did most of his damage at the free throw line, sinking 17-of-20. The 17 free throws were a career high for a single game.
Because of his quickness driving from the perimeter, Franklin was fouled frequently by Anderson.
Some college team will be delighted to acquire Franklin, who has a high-level skill set and makes his teammates better.
He grabbed 12 rebounds to achieve a double-double. In addition, he had three assists and one blocked shot.
Asked if Franklin would be more dangerous posting up near the basket, Young said, “At heart, he’s a guard. It’s hard for me to take a kid out of his best element, which is a face up game. The greatest thing he does is have the ball in his hands. He’s hard to stay in front of.”
While Anderson (3-15) double-teamed Franklin, his teammates were unguarded.
Eli Meyers, a 5-11 senior, knocked down 4-of-5 three-pointers to score 13 points.
"We were sending two guys at him all night long. We didn't use our hands very well. ..."
-- Anderson coach Eric Swanson
Braydon Adams, another 5-11 senior, shot 3-of-5 from the field and sank all four of his free throws for 11 points. He also helped the cause with four rebounds, three steals, and three assists.
Phineas Koplin, a 6-3 senior averaging nearly 16 points, sank only 2-of-10 shots and was limited to seven points.
Anderson connected on three three-pointers in the third quarter, outscoring Cedar Creek 20-13 for a 44-42 advantage.
But the Eagles opened the fourth quarter in a 2-3 zone and scored eight consecutive points to lead 53-46 with one minute remaining.
The 2-3 zone had an impact as Anderson hit only one three-pointer in the fourth.
”Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don’t, Swanson said about the long-range shooting. “They did a good job of changing up defenses, keeping us off balance.”
Young also used a man-to-man defense and a 1-3-1 zone in the game.
”I threw a lot out there today,” Young said. “Especially coming out of timeouts and at the end of quarters, a switch on defense can cause some chaos for the offense. That’s all we really tried to do.”
Cedar Creek competes in the Corpus Christi tournament starting December 27.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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