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Arizona Wildcats Choose Supreme

By Shereen Rayan

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Gary Franklin Sr. has been a lot of things to a lot of people, including a mentor to some of our beloved Wildcats, but he is first and foremost a father.

Mar 27, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Baylor Bears guard Gary Franklin (4) drives to the basket past Wisconsin Badgers guard Ben Brust (back) during the first half in the semifinals of the west regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Franklin Sr. is the founder and the heart of his California Supreme AAU basketball program. His goal is to have an Elite program to use the game of basketball to develop young men both on and off the court. He’s made a difference in a lot of young mens lives, but what he holds most dear is his relationship with his son.

Gary Franklin Jr. just graduated from Baylor University where he earned a degree and played at the guard position for the Bears. Franklin Sr. is so proud of his son, you can just hear it in his voice. He had just come home from his sons graduation in Texas when we caught up with him to talk about his program and all the wonderful Wildcats he has had mentored.

Where do Wildcats grow? They grow in Southern California…Solomon Hill (Indiana Pacers), Ryan Anderson (Sr. Arizona), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (Jr. Arizona), Grant Jerrett (Utah Jazz), Jacob Hazzard Jr. and Trey Mason (So. Arizona) all had their start on Franklin’s California Supreme teams.

Here is a Cal Supreme tribute video for Grant Jerrett and Solomon Hill.

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Most recently, Arizona Wildcat Ryan Anderson came back to talk to up and coming young high school players at a Cal Supreme practice. Ryan explained how practice in college lasts for five hours a day including workouts, watching film, weight lifting and meetings as well. That’s a lot longer than the two hours they are practicing today. This is one thing that Franklin expects from and adores about his former players, they come back to be mentors.

When asked about what makes his California Supreme program different from other teams, Franklin responded, “I think that we try to give more than just basketball to our players. Outside of development and outside of the stage and platform that we have to offer and give them, we provide a lot of mentoring.  We offer scholarships, the jist of it is that we are able to get our student athlete his grades, ACT and SAT scores and put it in our software to help him determine which school is a good fit.”

Mar 25, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Solomon Hill (44) advances the ball as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) looks on during the first half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The name of the software “Scholarships R US” and they are able to search for the size of the school of interest, location of the school (e.g. east coast or west coast), how many student athletes they recruited in the past 4 years that are similar to their student athlete as far as size & length at their position on the court. Impressive!

One of his goals is to help cut down the transfer rates of players from school to school. He wants them to find the right school from the beginning of their college career. He feels “the internet gives you more detail than when I was playing, it helps find the perfect fit for the kids.”

Also interesting is that Franklin explained how else his program is different, “We also have some Ivy League kids, NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) kids, Division 2 & 3 student athletes that will go on to college. We have tried to implement a system where some of the older kids to adopt a younger kid to be a mentor so they will understand what it takes to be a college athlete.”

What’s important to Franklin is that his players get an education, many players start playing before they are 20 years old, and if they are very lucky make it 15-20 years in the league. Franklin points out that they are in their late 30’s early 40’s and many do not have a degree. So what are they going to do with the rest of their life at that point because they have “a lot of life left to live?”

“I talk constantly about how education is vitally important, its about relationships that are going to make you successful.  ‘Is this guy  a good person?’ It’s more than that for me its not just about basketball, I’m very passionate about kids and their success and education,” explained Franklin.


There is also good news for Wildcat fans, there’s another possible Wildcat growing up and playing for Coach Franklin: his name is Brandon McCoy (Class of 2017). McCoy is already a 7 foot four-star PF/C who plays on the California Supreme 2015 EYBL Elite 17U team and is ranked No. 36 nationally, 9th in his position and is also being recruited by UCLA, Michigan State, UConn, USC and a host of others. Brandon played in Minnesota at a tournament on Memorial Day weekend. Franklin has other teams playing this weekend in a tournament in Long Beach as well. He is a busy Coach!

Coach Franklin, the Wildcats you have mentored are very special to us and we know they are very special to you and your program. We look forward to the future and to watching your teams and your talented well-rounded players. We hold a candle to you for all the care and support of the worlds young men and difference you are making in the world.

BEARDOWN GARY!

Follow California Supreme on Twitter @CalSupremeBball and check out their webage at www.californiasupremebasketball.com.

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