Pac-12 Player of the Week Robert Franks talks WSU’s sudden surge
Feb 11, 2019, 5:25 PM
Robert Franks had a pair of 30-point games as WSU swept the Arizona schools. (AP)
(AP)
Less than a week ago, 710 ESPN Seattle host and noted WSU Cougars fan Jim Moore had seen enough from Ernie Kent’s Washington State men’s basketball team.
WSU finishes desert sweep with 69-55 win over Arizona
He was singing a different tune on Monday afternoon following the Cougars’ surprising sweep of Arizona State and Arizona over the weekend. And to commemorate Wazzu’s sudden turnaround, he got to interview WSU star forward Robert Franks, who joined Danny, Dave and Moore to discuss what went right in the desert.
“We had a couple hard practices leading up to going down there to Arizona. We all kinda got together and fought hard and bought in to what Coach Kent was saying on the defense and offensive side,” said Franks, who was named Pac-12 Player of the Week after scoring 34 points in last Thursday’s 91-70 win over the Sun Devils and 31 points in a 69-55 Saturday win over the Wildcats. “It was very evident for us the whole weekend, we just gotta stick to his blueprint for the rest of the season. We could do something special in this last half of the season.”
When you average 32.5 points on 65% shooting you best believe you're named #Pac12Hoops Player of the Week.
Congratulations to @WSUMensHoops' Robert Franks: https://t.co/YlARdqJ6SV pic.twitter.com/wQ2kqSKelV
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) February 11, 2019
Now 10-14 overall and 3-8 in Pac-12 play, the Cougars are set to host the conference-leading UW Huskies (19-5, 10-1), who are coming off their first league loss of the season, at Pullman’s Beasley Coliseum in a 5 p.m. Saturday game that will be broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle.
“UW’s a really good team. They’re sitting there at the top of the conference, their zone is very good,” Franks said. “They have a lot of good players on their team, as well. I can’t wait, I know that the guys can’t wait. Hopefully we get a lot of fans in Beasley and it’s gonna be a heck of a game.”
Despite sitting in second-to-last place in the Pac-12, with the chance to earn an NCAA Tournament berth by winning the conference tournament, Franks and the Cougars know there is plenty more they can do this season.
“It’s not over. We’ve still got a lot of games left, and I just can’t wait to continue to keep this up,” Franks said.
You can listen to the full interview with Franks embedded in this post or download a podcast of it at this link.
