[I-Town]

From DetNews.com

Watch Duncanville, Texas, forward Roger Franklin on the basketball floor for any period of time and two words immediately come to mind - hard worker. The 6-foot-5, 195-pounder is the consummate effort player with a motor that just doesn't stop. Every loose ball is dove for, every charge is taken, and every physical message is sent. In short, he appreciates the intangible aspects of the game, while being very skilled to boot.

"The first thing that you will notice is that I am a team player," said Franklin, a class of 2009 recruit. "I am an emotional guy that will do whatever it takes to win. I bring intensity and will give you 150 percent every night. Plus I made the transition from a post to a guard, so you know I am guaranteed to work on my game. I can shoot the lights out from the mid-range. Fifteen feet and in is cash money! You might as well go ahead and get back on defense."

Scout.com basketball analyst Evan Daniels has observed the four-star prospect very closely over the past few summers, and echoes the youngster's personal sentiments.

"The first thing that sticks out about Roger Franklin is his consistency," Daniels said. "Night in and night out you know he is going to hit the glass, knock down mid-range jumpers, and play defense. He's the ultimate glue guy. He's expanded his game to the point where he can play on the wing full-time. He brings a lot of attributes to the table, but his biggest goal every time out is to get the victory. Every college program needs a tough, hard-nosed guy like him that will do whatever it takes to win."

Currently ranked the eighth-best small forward in the country and the No. 49 prospect overall, Franklin's winning track record speaks for itself.

"If you go back to seventh grade, I think his record is 130-something wins and only eight losses," said his uncle, Andre Johnson, who is guiding his recruitment. "He went undefeated two years in middle school. The kid is just a winner."

Franklin's winning ways with "Team Texas" on the AAU circuit this summer caught the attention of a number of high major programs. More than 15 such schools had offered scholarships by July, but he recently narrowed his list of contenders to five: Indiana, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Michigan State. The Spartans in particular have been extremely aggressive of late, and Franklin has definitely taken notice.

"I have been talking to (Michigan State assistant) Mark Montgomery a lot," said Johnson. "I have also talked to Coach Izzo a couple of times and Roger has talked to them too. Michigan State has pretty much come up. I am going to round it to a top three and say that (Michigan State) will be in that top three."

Added Franklin, "They came on kind of late, but they're a basketball powerhouse. I know who Coach Izzo is. He is a very intense coach that wants what is best for his players. He has a great coaching staff and one thing that Coach Izzo does is he develops players. He helps players get to that next level. He has great connections. I just know that Coach Izzo is going to be one of the those coaches that if you play for him, you are guaranteed to not only leave as a better player, but also as a better man."

Aiding the Green and White cause are Franklin's deep ties to the Great Lakes State. His father's side of his family hails from Inkster, and a great deal of them still reside in southeastern Michigan. The close proximity of family is certainly a positive factor for the Spartans, but it is not an advantage that they alone possess.

"It is kind of like a neutral deal because we have family in Michigan, but we're in Texas," Johnson explained. "We're only three hours from Oklahoma. He's got family here and family there. Wherever he goes, everything is all good."

For his part, Franklin is planning to give every school a long, hard look before making a final decision in October.

"I am going to try to take all five of my officials," he said. "Indiana just got Tom Crean, a great coach from Marquette. He is a guy that is going to push his kids. Arizona is also a good school. They have been there (in his recruitment) from the get go. I have been to their elite camp and I have a great relationship with all the coaches. Oklahoma is very close to home and that is just a little bit of an edge for them. And Oklahoma State is rebuilding, but I know they are a producer of great players and I know that players get treated very well there. They have been on me since the beginning of this year. Even when they switched coaching staffs, I still had my offer."

When all is said and done, Franklin's weeding out process will hinge on three very specific factors.

"It's going to come down to the coach, the graduation rate, and the living arrangement," Johnson reported. "Roger isn't one of these guys getting into the hype of, 'I am one and done.' He is a guy that wants to get a college degree because he knows that in a blink of an eye, his career could be over."

Depending on what happens on his upcoming visits, his recruitment could be too.