SAN FRANCISCO — Washington State junior forward Robert Franks was named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year.
The conference awards were announced Monday.
Franks becomes the third Cougar to pick up the award and the second under fourth-year head coach Ernie Kent, joining Brock Motum (2012) and Josh Hawkinson (2015).
Earlier in the day, the Pac-12 announced the all-conference teams, as Franks was named honorable mention.
A graduate of Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Franks leads the Cougars and ranks seventh in the Pac-12 (142nd in the nation) with 17.4 points per game, adding a team second-best and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Franks is shooting .473 from the field and .403 from 3-point range. He’s fifth in the conference with a .851 free-throw percentage.
Last year as a sophomore Franks averaged 6.3 points and had 3.3 rebounds per game in 16.4 minutes per game in 31 games.
With 505 points, he has already doubled his point total from his first two seasons (245), With 64 3-pointers in 29 games this year, Franks has more than doubled his number of 3-pointers made from the 54 games his first two seasons, 25.
Arizona’s Deandre Ayton was chosen the Pac-12 player and freshman of the year.
Washington’s Matisse Thybulle was named defensive player of the year and his coach Mike Hopkins was named Pac-12 coach of the year.
