Sports Editor Matthew Yannie recently talked to menís basketball† guard Ian Franks í11. He has been the leading scorer for a Scotsí team heading into††† tomorrowís rivalry match-up with Wittenberg as the Scots look to continue their winning streak in conference.
MY: The tough early schedule was meant to challenge the team in preparation for the type of talent you will be facing in the NCAA tournament. How have the early tests benefited this team over the course of the season?
IF: Obviously, any time you play three top-five teams like we did, you are going to get better because of it. Playing tough competition like that helped us learn what it takes to be a top-five level team ó after we played [University of] St. Thomas we knew where we needed to be if we wanted to win our conference again and make the tournament. Playing those teams early has really helped us through conference play.
MY: How important was the win at Wabash College this past weekend for this teamís confidence and momentum going into the final stretch of the season and the conference tournament?
IF: Wabash is a really good team ó one of the better teams in our conference ó so to go to their place and win, which we know is a tough place to play because weíve been there before, and we know that theyíre better at their place than when we face them at home, was big. We knew going in that it was going to be a tough game, but we got it done with defense there at the end. That helps our confidence even more.
MY: You have paced the Scots attack averaging nearly 18 points per game. What has allowed you to emerge as the number one scoring threat on such a deep and talented team?
IF: A lot the time itís just trying to create a shot whether itís for me or my teammates. If I have an open lane Iím going to try and get to the basket and score, and if not, Iím going to pass it out to Nate [Balch í11] or Justin [Hallowell í12] or any of our other shooters. I try to attack the basket and take advantage of the defense more than anything.
MY: How has the strong play of underclassmen benefited this team which still has a very solid nucleus of players who will be back next year?
IF: Guys have really stepped up this season. The first-years, even though they donít play a whole lot of minutes, they play hard and good inside, giving us solid minutes. Justin Warnes í12 and of course Justin [Hallowell] and Matt [Fegan í12], play a lot of minutes and play a key role. Those guys just keep getting better and better, both on offense and defense.
MY: How much of an advantage is the home court, and specifically against Wittenberg?
IF: Obviously the crowds are always bigger, but a lot of the time I think that playing in an away game and having the road crowd can motivate you more as the visiting team. I think that happened for us the first time. We had a lot of intensity and even though we missed a couple shots early, we finally got going. As far as home and away games go, I think it is less relevant in rivalry games.
MY: What things still need to be improved in order for this team to make a run through the NCAC tournament and into the National tournament?
IF: We have to focus on continuing to get better through the end of the season especially on defense. The more we separate ourselves defensively from other teams, the better we are going to be.