Franklin’s poor play in the non-conference season led to the loss of his starting job.

Sitting out for a year away from basketball is a very tough thing to take. When Ricky Franklin was declared academically ineligible to begin playing basketball his freshman year in 2005, that meant a season off the hardwood for an extremely talented player.

Franklin flew under the radar for most of his high school career, but a phenomenal senior campaign, in which he was named City Conference Player of the Year, led Franklin to earn a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

When his grades weren’t good enough to merit a roster spot on the basketball team, Franklin spent his first year of college with his nose deep in the books-something that has paid off 10-fold for UWM.

Franklin opened the 2006-2007 season as a starter — but more importantly a starter with a great GPA. However, the year off from basketball was showing. Franklin was shooting around 30 percent from the floor, his defense was mediocre and he looked lost on the court.

Franklin’s poor play in the non-conference season led to the loss of his starting job. While the Panthers as a team struggled just after the new year, losing road games to Loyola and Youngstown State, Franklin has flourished. The 6-foot-1 guard has grown as a player, scoring in double figures four out of the last five games.

On Jan. 17, in a triumph over rival University of Illinois-Chicago, Franklin scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds despite fouling out. The sophomore made four of his five three-point shots, sparking the 27-4 first half run that put out the Flames.

In the loss at Youngstown, Franklin led all Panthers with 18 points and eight rebounds. The loss to preseason league favorite Loyola was tough to take, but Ricky scored 11 points and snagged five rebounds, four of which were offensive. His scoring average has raised to 6.5 points per game.

His defense has shored up as well. Entering the weekend game against Wright State, Franklin led Milwaukee with 20 steals.

The upswing in Franklin’s game has not only been beneficial for him. It’s proved contagious for his teammates.

“We were setting a lot of pick and rolls and they were going under the screens,” Franklin said about the UIC game. “So, I was just able to pull up and let it go. I think it (making a few of the threes) made everyone comfortable shooting the ball.”

Maybe Ricky Franklin is the key to Milwaukee’s success.

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