SDSU, Local Player's NCAA Dream Ends in Sweet 16

UPDATE: UConn beats San Diego State, 74-67, in the Sweet 16.

No matter how old, how smart or how famous you get, you’re still someone’s kid. Just ask LaBradford Franklin.

One minute, you’re doing warm up drills with your San Diego State basketball team, smack dab in the middle of your own March Madness. You smile for the television cameras as your team captures victories and the hearts of bracket gurus all over the nation.

But all it takes is one call from home – whether that’s mom or dad in Temecula, friends from Great Oak High School or grandma in New Orleans or Arkansas – and you’re that gangly kid shooting hoops in your driveway again.

“My grandparents are always calling me and wishing me good luck – they said it’s pretty crazy to see their grandchild on TV,” Franklin said. “My grandma’s telling me I’ve grown so much and stop growing, and I tell her, 'Grandma, I need to get bigger.’ My mom calls me and tells me to get a haircut before every game. ‘Yes, mom, yes mom.’"

Thursday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, San Diego State (34-2) will face Connecticut (28-9) in the NCAA Tournament. As a freshman, Franklin got some minutes during the season, but has yet to play in the postseason.

“It’s definitely crazy. Everyone knows you; your first name, your last name, where you grew up. I know a lot of Temecula residents go to San Diego State and that’s why I chose to go here, to have my family and friends watch me play.”

Still, students and friends stopped him every few steps on campus earlier this week, when the Aztecs came back from Arizona with two NCAA victories and a national spotlight on a basketball program that rarely gets attention.

His dad, Brad Franklin, said that so many people in Temecula, from people at Wal-Mart to the guy that took his order at Carl’s Jr. Wednesday morning, remind him that LaBradford belongs to everybody in Temecula and how excited people are to claim a piece of him. A piece that Franklin and his wife will readily share with friends and family.

They know his time will come. That’s where his dad comes in.

“He’s maturing and waiting his turn, which he’s not used to,” Brad Franklin said. “I’m pretty impressed with him. I didn’t know how he would handle it. We speak every day and I remind him that he’s a star, just like his teammates are. He tends to look at it like it’s their team, not his yet, but he has to conduct himself like he deserves to be there. He knows he’s capable and I tell him all the time.”