Friday Night in District 6, Franklin and NHS Needing Wins

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: Franklin High</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, the 4A Williamson County teams are not smashed together in a mega-district.  Only five teams populate D11-4A and four exist in D12-4A. Would those teams convince onlookers of their prominence Friday night?  Which teams impressed?  Any players enhance their reputation?  </p> <h2>Region 6</h2> <ul> <li>District 11</li> </ul> <p>Franklin<br />Brentwood<br />Ravenwood<br />Nolensville<br />Centennial</p> <ul> <li>District 12</li> </ul> <p>Independence<br />Columbia Central<br />Page<br />Summit</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Partial Rosters (Starters*)</span></strong></p> <p><strong>Centennial<br /></strong></p> <p><strong>Franklin<br /></strong>#4 [player_tooltip player_id='2621353' first='Cole' last='Kizer']* (2027)<br />#5 [player_tooltip player_id='2401357' first='Hayden' last='McLarty']*<br />#10 [player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson']* (2027)<br />#11 [player_tooltip player_id='2691976' first='Conrad' last='Jones']*<br />#20 [player_tooltip player_id='3141754' first='Carson' last='Vaughn']*</p> <p><strong>Nolensville<br /></strong>#0 [player_tooltip player_id='2338577' first='Ryland' last='McKelvy']*<br />#2 [player_tooltip player_id='2854558' first='Brody' last='Cooper']*<br />#5 [player_tooltip player_id='1959892' first='Bryant' last='Hall'] Jr.*<br />#10 [player_tooltip player_id='2504204' first='Luke' last='Carroll']* (2028)<br />#11 [player_tooltip player_id='1946924' first='Chris' last='Johnson']*</p> <h3><b>Franklin (66) @ Nolensville (57)</b></h3> <p>After their first losing streak of the whole season (a mere 2 games), the Admirals faced a tricky moment in their promising season.  Travel into Nolensville's gym and don't lose.  Good luck.</p> <p>Hosts Nolensville established prominence early as Franklin turned the ball over and failed to get any kind of offensive penetration. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson']</strong> figured it out with a shifty Euro-step drive to draw a foul, but it took nearly four minutes for that to transpire.</p> <p>Just a half minute later the game turned after a baby hook by <strong>Nick Lunn</strong>. Junior<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson']</strong> defensively rebounded the next Knight miss and countered quickly upcourt. Nolensville sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2504204' first='Luke' last='Carroll']</strong> hunted Robinson down from behind but was whistled for a foul on the bump as Robinson stumbled to the floor awkwardly while entering the lane.  NHS fans moaned surely hoping for a travel call, but they were stunned by a whistle punishing Carroll for a foul.  Carroll griped long enough that he earned a technical foul.  And just like that Franklin found their way into the game.</p> <p>Maybe not back-breaking, but certainly bank-bruising...Franklin's [player_tooltip player_id='2401357' first='Hayden' last='McLarty'] tipped home [player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson']'s miss as the first quarter buzzer sounded.  Originally down 7-2, Franklin exited Q1 up 12-7.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1946924' first='Chris' last='Johnson'] played ok, but the Nolensville guards delivered horrible performances. Leader <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1959892' first='Bryant' last='Hall'] Jr.</strong> did not gather the troops or get them to recover from the late first quarter tide-turn. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338577' first='Ryland' last='McKelvy']</strong> took countless challenged shots and rebounded defensively the worst of any player watched this season. Hall Jr. can be a good player and yet this was a pivotal moment that required leadership, explicit leadership and neither he nor his fellow seniors conquered the moment.</p> <p>For the SECOND time in the first half, Nolensville committed a technical foul.  After <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2338577' first='Ryland' last='McKelvy']</strong> made a difficult three-pointer he barked at the Franklin team bench, possibly a curse word or two, and immediately earned a technical foul.  Unfortunately for NHS this moment came just as they finally re-found their footing in the game. His make brought the game to 17-16 Franklin and what should have been an exciting, transitory time for the home crowd crumbled with a couple of ill-timed words.</p> <p>The visiting Admirals played the final quarter out perfectly. The guard-heavy team finished off possessions with a good shot or a free throw attempt.  When they earned the lead, the team ensured that turnovers would not occur and patiently made savvy decisions.  Most of the free throw shooters converted and the team limited fouls as they defended through the morass. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2417844' first='Collin' last='Robinson']</strong> scored 11 of his team's first 15 points. </p> <p><em>First Sub and Impact:<br /></em>Franklin inserted their first substitute midway through the first quarter, and it was <strong>Nick Lunn</strong> (2027). Lunn bowled his way into the lane as a rebounder. He did not win all of his rebounding battles, but he did compete.  Lunn finished a lovely baby-hook in the first quarter.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2342262' first='Beckett' last='Gray']</strong> (2027) entered first for Nolensville just a minute later. Gray played with speed and appeared to be a little tricky for Franklin's guards and yet he did not take shots.  By the end Gray's movement was creative but did not result in points on the board. Gray scored two free throws late in the first half.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size: 18pt"><strong>Projected Order of Finish </strong>(Picked this on 1/23)</span><br />1. Brentwood<br />2. Franklin<br />3. Ravenwood<br />4. Nolensville<br />5. Centennial</p> <p><strong>Analysis:</strong> Is Franklin ever going to have a rebuilding year?  They graduated the #1 player in the state in Christian Brown and appeared (on paper) to be a thoroughly average team.  Instead, the Admirals surged as high as #5 in our PrepHoopsTN 4A Top 10 Rankings until this past week of consecutive losses.  Thanks to the team's veteran guards and outside shooting they are our pick to finish second, maybe a distant second behind Brentwood High.  Nolensville at #4 will ruffle feathers, but they do not finish games well.  They also lack the depth of the last couple of years. This is a vulnerable team.  Centennial's coaching change was horribly timed, and the program did not solve it adequately entering 2025-2026.  They also lost Daniel Patton to transfer in the summer. Their remaining star <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2283590' first='Carter' last='Ezell']</strong> will endure a painful senior season as a result.</p> <p><em>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8">@AndrewForce8</a>.</em></p>