PEORIA, Ill. -- Will Franklin, a 6-foot guard from Houston, Texas (Alief Hastings H.S.), who helped a young Kilgore College team to a 20-10 record last winter, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Bradley University with plans to play basketball for the Braves during the 2005-06 season.

One of two sophomores on a junior college team that featured 10 freshmen, Franklin averaged 8.4 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Runnin' Rangers. During his sophomore season, Franklin shot 45.6 percent from the field, including a 24-for-66 (.364) effort from 3-point territory, and 71.3 percent (72-101) from the free throw line. Kilgore averaged 75.3 points per game with Franklin as the starting point guard.

“Will is a quality person that will earn his four-year degree,” said Kilgore head coach Scott Schumacher. “He is a very good point guard ... steady, under control and he ran our team exactly how we wanted it to run.”

Franklin played only one season at Kilgore after transferring from Murray State College in Tishimingo, Okla. As a freshman, he averaged 15 points per game for the Aggies.

Franklin is the third player to sign with Bradley for the 2005-06 season, joining November signees Zach Andrews and Ray Brown. A 6-foot-8 forward, Andrews earned Bay Valley East all-conference honors as a sophomore last season at Yuba (Calif.) College. He averaged 13.5 points per game and led the league in rebounding at 10.5 boards per game. A 6-foot-6 guard, Brown averaged 20.3 points per game during his senior season, leading Richfield (Minn.) High School to a 24-5 record and the championship game of the Minnesota Class 3 state tournament.