Strong work ethic leads to on-court success for sophomore

When sophomore Franko House first stepped onto Ball State's campus as a freshman, the 6-foot-6 forward weighed 268 pounds.

After a summer devoted to transforming his body and improving his game, House is down to 234 pounds this season. He lowered his body fat from 16.7 percent to 7.0 percent and built muscle mass.

House's game has reaped benefits from the transformation, as he is putting up 14.4 points on .664 percent shooting in his last five games. He matched a career-high with 19 points against Toledo on Feb. 7.

“I just wanted to get in better shape ...," he said. “As far as cardio goes, it was a main focal point so that I’m able to last longer in the games instead of playing two minutes straight and having to get a sub.”

Building stamina wasn’t the sole reason for House to lose weight. He wanted to become quicker and lighter by losing some of his bulk from high school, where he played tight end on the football team in addition to basketball.

House has always been a natural athlete, and is capable of guarding wing and post players. But he believes his transformation will help him keep up with the pace of the college game, which was a problem in his freshman season.

After averaging 7.6 points while shooting .428 percent from the field in nonconference play, House has become a top option for the Cardinals through 12 MAC games, increasing his averages to 12.6 points per contest on .615 percent shooting.

“He’s doing a great job offensively,” head coach James Whitford said. “I can certainly see him being the No. 1 scoring option, and he really kind of is right now in the conference.”

House's work ethic on and off the court earned him co-captain honors for this season.

Junior Bo Calhoun, who has a friendly rivalry with House, says he's a player who always leads by example with his work ethic.

“It’s an everyday competition between me and Franko [House], we both try to out compete each other,” Calhoun said. “This season alone has shown how hard he’s worked.”

Whitford said House's improvements on the court have come in his effective post-playing skills and good playmaking.

House will look to continue to lead the Cardinals with his work ethic as they close out MAC play and compete in the postseason.

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