UWM men's basketball adds two players including Milwaukee Hamilton's Simeon Murchison
Todd Rosiak
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UW-Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy has one scholarship to fill.
UW-Milwaukee coach Bart Lundy likes to think big when it comes to his players.
So while his newest signee, Aaron Franklin, is listed at 6 feet 5 inches, Lundy doesn't see the 210-pound native of Kansas City, Missouri, as being strictly a guard once he suits up for the Panthers this coming season.
"To me, he's got a frame where he could get up to 230 (pounds) and be a PJ Tucker type," Lundy said. "It was nice having Moses (Bol, the 7-footer). But I think height is the most overrated thing in basketball. He can play anywhere from the 2 through the 5 for us."
Franklin just put the wraps on a tremendous season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, where he was named third-team all-American in the NJCAA after averaging 22 points on 49.2% shooting and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Helping Franklin's average on the glass were 12 double-digit rebounding games, including one in which he hauled down 18 in 32 minutes to help fuel a victory.
"He's really just scratching the surface on how good a rebounder he can be," said Lundy of Franklin, who also hit a team-leading 80 three-pointers in 32 games to go along with 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals. "He has massive hands and really, just a nose for the ball.
"He is a definite switchable. He can shoot the three, he can post you up. He can do a little bit of everything. Very, very versatile."
Franklin's play had attracted the notice of Power 5 schools but he whittled his list of finalists to UWM, Tulsa and Western Kentucky based on his goal to major in electrical engineering.
"He's almost like the perfect student-athlete," Lundy said. "He's not a good student, he's a great student. And then he's a terrific player, as well. Humble and just a great young man. The kind of guy you want to coach.
"He's definitely talented enough, but he brings so many other intangibles. That's what makes me excited about him."
Franklin will have three years of eligibility at UWM.
Joining Franklin as the latest newcomers to the program will be 6-8 Simeon Murchison of Milwaukee Hamilton product who becomes the second City Conference play to come aboard since March.
Bradley Tech's Learic Davis, a transfer from Tennessee State, was the first.
Murchison fits the bill as far as the Panthers' need for size, with no returning scholarship players over 6-6. But the belief is as Murchison develops he can become a true inside-outside player with tremendous potential.
Murchison's story is also unique in that he is autistic. There are some who believe he was the best all-around player in the City Conference this past season, and to be able to keep Murchison home and close to his support network while playing Division I basketball is hoped to be a win-win for both player and program.
Murchison will join the Panthers this season as a preferred walk-on with the potential to earn a scholarship.
With the signing of Franklin, UWM has one remaining scholarship to fill.
"I'm looking for an all-league type to fill that last spot," Lundy said. "So, as patient as I have to be is how I'm going to play it out.
"We've got a good team. I like the toughness and the character that we've added with these signees. But we need some size and rebounding and somebody that can really carry a lot of water at that 5 spot."