There was a time when teammates wanted nothing to do with passing the ball to Jada Franklin.
That was a long time ago.
Franklin was 8 and playing up in a boys rec league in University Park.
“I played against boys who were older than me,” she said. “They weren’t really passing me the ball because I’m a girl. They didn’t trust me like they trusted the other boys.
“And I wasn’t that good at the time.”
Times have changed.
Franklin is now a freshman on the Crete-Monee varsity girls basketball team and she is definitely getting the ball passed to her.
And, she is good.
Through her first 12 varsity games, she was averaging a team-high 13.4 points and 1.6 assists. She also is among the team leaders at 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game.
Sure, there are some rookie mistakes. But for the most part, she looks comfortable playing with the varsity.
“I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult,” she said. “But I’m used to playing against older players. I knew this would be a higher level than elementary school so I was ready for it.”
She helped lead Crete-Monee Middle School to a third-place finish in the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 4A eighth-grade tournament and a state quarterfinal appearance in seventh grade.
Franklin was also a finalist for the IESA Scholar Attitude award and was a state qualifier in track. So she came to high school with a good reputation as both a student and an athlete.
Warriors girls basketball coach Edward Ivory likes what she has brought to the table.
“I think she is handling it very well so far,” Ivory said. “She is adjusting to the speed of the game and the physicality. She’s a little reserved and we want her to step up a little more.”
Franklin has received some help from her older brother, Josh, who is a defensive back at Western Michigan. Josh was a three-sport athlete when he entered high school but dropped basketball after his sophomore year to concentrate on football and track.
But he still keeps an eye on his sister.
“He always teaches me new skills to take into the game,” Jada said of Josh.
The Warriors took an 8-6 record into 2026 and has a bright future with three freshmen, two sophomores, four juniors and a senior on the roster.
“I’m in my 11th year here and we’ve won one regional,” Ivory said. “Right now, I want us to get back to where we can win a regional and I think we can do that this year.”
Double double-doubles
Crete-Monee’s boys basketball finished 10th in the 52nd Big Dipper Tournament at Rich.
But a game the Warriors will remember for a long time is the 63-58 overtime win over Hillcrest on Dec. 29.
The Warriors had two players post double-doubles as Joseph Jones had 27 points and 18 rebounds while Uriel Chapman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.