Panther men’s hoops boasted some of the best talent in the mountains this year.
Following the winter campaign, in which Franklin posted their seventh straight winning season and sixth straight trip to the state playoffs, Mountain Seven Conference coaches met for their annual postseason meeting to discuss conference business and nominate an All-Conference team. There two Panthers were named as All-M7C honorees, with another earning Honorable Mention. The Press will recount the seasons of these three Panthers below.
Max McClure
It was a season to remember for Max McClure. A guard earning his second straight All-Conference honor, the junior was Franklin’s unquestioned leader and on-court workhorse, ranking near the top of the roster in nearly every statistical category.
Offensively McClure treated Panther fans to a yearlong clinic, looking equally at home driving toward the basket through contact or shooting from long range. He led the team by wide margins in points (596), points per game (22.9), 3-pointers (63) and double-doubles (11); and ranked first in field goal percentage (46%) among Panthers with more than 50 shot attempts. These numbers were inflated by his monster 47-point performance at Smoky Mountain Feb. 6, which broke Franklin’s all-time single-game points record of 45. Ten days later he became just the third player in program history with 1,000 career points, after his older brother, Miles, and Miles’ teammate, Griffin Green.
Conference-wide, McClure and East Henderson’s Caiden Brewer formed a league of their own, finishing 100 total points and three points per game ahead of their next-closest rivals. When his path to the basket was blocked, the junior excelled at dishing to teammates, finishing second among Panthers with 52 assists and two assists per game.
When shots didn’t find the net, McClure looked more like a frontcourt player than a guard, using his 6’3” frame to lead the team by wide margins in rebounds (215) and rebounds per game (8.3). He also finished second on the team in steals (52) and steals per game (2.0), and earned All-District 12 First-Team honors from the N.C. Basketball Coaches’ Association.
“As a point guard he ran the show for us and was obviously our best player, but at the same time very humble in his success,” said longtime Panther head coach Doug Plemmons. “If I had one word to describe him I would just say ‘solid’ – just a really solid player in all phases. He could score the ball at all three levels – he shot the three extremely well, he developed a very good mid-range game, and then was strong around the basket. When they fouled him he was able to make a high percentage of his free throws, so just a solid offensive player. Defensively he really helped us on the boards pulling rebounds and those types of things, so looking forward to having him back this year.”
Will Rauers
While McClure came into his own as Franklin’s spearhead and offensive juggernaut, Will Rauers burst onto the scene with one of the program’s best-ever freshman seasons. Beguiling defenders with his athleticism and readymade skillset, Rauers should be a force for Panther hoops for years to come.
With the frame and wingspan of a forward and the on-court toolchest of a guard, Rauers joined McClure to form a lethal 1-2 punch, finishing second to the junior in points (344), points per game (13.2), 3-pointers (48) and double-doubles (3). When driving toward the basket, the freshman often drew multiple defenders away from his teammates, and excelled at dishing the ball to open shooters for a team-leading 53 assists.
Like McClure, Rauers displayed uncommon rebounding skills for a wing player, finishing second on the team with 131 total and five per game. On defense he used his length to clog up passing lanes in the half-court, leading the team in both steals (63) and steals per game (2.4). Upon intercepting the ball the speedy freshman was difficult to catch, often outrunning defenders up the court for easy baskets in transition.
After helping Macon Middle School to two straight unbeaten seasons, Rauers seemed to walk onto the varsity team already fully-formed, posting 48 points, 14 steals, 18 rebounds and seven assists in Franklin’s first three games. The run earned him a statewide Men’s Performance of the Week award from the N.C. High School Athletic Association.
“From an overall basketball standpoint, I feel like he had one of the best freshman years that I’ve been associated with,” said Plemmons, now entering his 34th year as a varsity head coach. “He had a big part in our overall team success, and the thing that impressed me the most about him was that he was a two-way player. He not only played well on offense, but by the end of the season he was normally guarding either the best player on the other team or the second-best player on the other team. He did well on both ends of the court, was a pleasure to coach, a hard worker, played hard and earned everything that he got.”
Braylen Dezarn
Another crucial part of the Mountain Seven’s most talented backcourt, Braylen Dezarn earned an All-Conference Honorable Mention this year. An excellent sprinter, jumper, hurdler and football player in the offseason, Dezarn was perhaps Franklin’s most athletic player this year, using his speed and agility to create open looks at the basket.
Offensively Dezarn finished fourth on the team in points (207), assists (31) and 3-pointers (20), and second in field goal percentage (43%) among Panthers with more than 50 shot attempts. On defense the savvy junior excelled at anticipating rivals’ next moves, often intercepting passes in the backcourt to finish fifth with 19 steals. Like Rauers, Dezarn was off to the races upon intercepting the pass, turning opponents’ possessions into easy transition layups.
“Really pleased with Braylen. He had some big games when we needed them, and several big scoring games,” said Plemmons. “He was someone that we counted on defensively with his quickness, and Braylen’s signature offensively was driving the ball to the basket and scoring in transition. He was able to get out and is extremely fast, and we were able to find him in transition several times for buckets. It kind of breaks the other team’s back when maybe they score and you get the ball inbounds quickly and Braylen is already headed up the court – maybe they’re celebrating the fact that they made a basket or hit a 3-pointer or something, and then before they can get turned around he’s laying the ball up on the other end. That happened multiple times during the season, so good for him and good for us for being able to find him in the open court.”