Colorado basketball’s lame-duck coaching situation has caused Aurora Central’s Stephen Franklin to change his mind. The 6-foot-5 swingman said Tuesday he will reopen his recruiting rather than sign with the Buffaloes during the eight- day early signing period that begins today.
Franklin averaged 18 points and 6.0 rebounds last season and may be the top prospect among the state’s high school seniors. He orally committed to Colorado in May but said he began to reconsider when CU coach Ricardo Patton announced Oct. 25 that this season will be his last.
“I think it’s in my best interests if I wait and see who the new coach is,” Franklin said. “I need to keep my options open.”
Two other CU oral commitments, 6-4 Levi Knutson of Arapahoe, and 7-0 Caleb Patterson of Ringwood, Okla., said they will sign national letters of intent with Colorado today during ceremonies at their schools.
Recruiting website Rivals.com ranks Franklin, Knutson and Patterson as three-star (national top 250) prospects.
Knutson averaged 18.3 points as a junior and also considered Air Force and Iowa State.
“I’m really impressed with the young guys already in the (CU) program,” Knutson said.
Patterson averaged 17.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and six blocked shots. He initially picked CU over Rice, but Auburn and Northwestern coaches have made a strong push since Patton’s announcement two weeks ago.
“(Colorado) just feels right,” Patterson said. “They’re going to get a good coach.”
Franklin said he will consider signing with CU in the spring if he is wanted by Patton’s successor. But he also plans to look at other schools. Franklin said he recently has been contacted by Purdue for football (he is a wide receiver), and UCLA and Washington for both sports.
Another of the state’s top basketball prospects, 6-9 Andrew Hooper of D’Evelyn, has committed to the University of Denver.
The Colorado State men’s program has known oral commitments from 6-2 point guard Jesse Wood- ard, a three-star prospect at Compton (Calif.) Centennial, and three junior-college players at Northeastern College in Sterling: 6-7 Shane Edwards, 6-8 Xavier Kilby and 5-10 Omar Leary. The CSU women’s program has commitments from 5-9 Bonnie Barbee of Mesa, Ariz., 6-2 Whitney Wood of Santa Margarita, Calif., and 6-0 Elle Queen from Minnetonka, Minn.
CU women’s coach Kathy McConnell-Miller reportedly has commitments from three Californians: 6-1 Brittany Spears of Pasadena, 6-foot Chelsea Dale of Palos Verdes Estates and 5-8 Britney Blythe from San Francisco.
First-year Northern Colorado men’s coach Tad Boyle has known commitments from 6-7 Taylor Montgomery of Cherry Creek High School and 6-7 Justin Wesloski of Mesa, Ariz. According to Internet recruiting sites, Air Force received an oral commitment from 6-7 Phillip Brown of McDonough, Ga.
NCAA rules forbid college coaches from commenting on recruits until the school has received a signed letter of intent.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
