PHEBA – How did Hebron Christian School’s Bruce Franks react to the news he’d been named The Dispatch’s Small Schools Girls Basketball Coach of the Year for the second straight season?
By immediately looking forward to the next one.
Franks, who spent 28 years in the Mississippi High School Activities Association ranks at nearby Houston High, put his stamp on Hebron’s basketball program during his first season in 2013-14, helping the Lady Eagles advance to the MAIS Class A State Tournament.
In his second season, Franks had the Lady Eagles back in the same position this time around, finishing with a 21-6 overall record.
But instead of talking about those two banner years, all Franks wanted to talk about was Hebron’s next opportunity.
“We’ll have every one of them back next year,” said Franks. “I really think we were pretty good this year, but we weren’t as good as we could be. And I think our girls know that. They have a bad taste in their mouth about how this season ended. Next year, I really think that can be our year.”
Even so, this time around was pretty good, too. A year after making their first appearance in the MAIS Overall State Tournament, the Lady Eagles advanced to the first round of the Class A tourney in 2014-15.
A fine season, sure. But to Franks, it may as well be an appetizer for what may be waiting around the corner for the Lady Eagles, who return all five starters.
“It seems like, to me, we were more of a team the first year,” said Franks. “This past year, we never really reached the level I expected us to reach this year. We had a good record but I think we had higher expectations for ourselves that we didn’t quite get to.”
The Lady Eagles were led this season by sophomores Rebekah Faulkner, Hebron’s leading scorer, and Holly Hudson, who Franks says “Does all of the intangible stuff that you need to have.”
For the veteran coach, the award – his second in as many seasons in the MAIS ranks – is nice. But he believes Hebron is capable of even more, and he has a Class A state title in his sights for a team loaded with young talent.
How do the Lady Eagles get there? By working hard.
“We start over,” said Franks. “I think we took for granted that we were young last year and we went a good ways last year. We almost got to where we did last year, but it didn’t feel the same.”
Along the way, Franks saw his team win 21 of their 27 games, and he saw young players emerge on a team filled with youth. Along with players like Hudson and Faulkner, Franks mentioned players like Brooke Griffin, Victoria Ferguson and Jana White. Of White, Franks said, “She really came a long way. When you talk about somebody who put in the work and who got better as the season went along, that was her.”
‘He keeps it fun’
Upon receiving his first of two straight awards, Franks preached the virtue of hard work when it comes to building a better basketball team.
“Whether you are a four-star recruit or a first-year player, nothing substitutes for hard work,” said Franks. “As long as you work hard and each player believes in one another, you will have success. I believe you can have a lot of success that way.”
But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to have fun. Just ask his players.
“He keeps it fun,” said Ferguson. “He’s a funny guy and he keeps things light-hearted at practice. We work hard, but we enjoy playing basketball, too.”
White echoed her teammates’ sentiments.
“It’s fun to go to practice every day,” said White. “He takes it seriously but not so seriously that it makes it hard on us. We are expected to work hard and we get to have fun at the same time.”
For Franks, the fun comes in the winning. And the winning has been substantial, as he has emerged victorious in 46 of his first 58 games as Hebron’s coach. He also splits time coaching the Hebron boys team, and he won 20 games with that team, too.
But for now, Franks has his two coach of the year awards. And soon, he hopes to add a third when he fields his best Hebron team yet.
“We are on the right path, we just haven’t completed our journey,” said Franks. “If these girls want to, we can get there.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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