The excitement in Franklin right now surrounding Luke Kennard, the one-time Wildcat whose Franklin family roots are 50 years deep, is not just some hometown hooray. No, no. This is “Wildcat Crazy” at its fever pitch, and rightfully so.
When Duke University plays Troy Friday night in first round of the NCAA March Madness (tipoff 7 pm), virtually all of Franklin will be watching and rooting for Luke, who is now an all-ACC and all-American starter for the Blue Devils and their legendary coach, Mike Kryzewski.
The scene has become a familiar one all season. Kids all over town will be in front of their TVs, wearing a Duke No. 5 jersey (like Tinsley Bales, pictured, who is the youngest daughter of Luke’s high school coach, Brian Bales, and his wife, Jayme), while adults will gather at businesses like A & G Pizza and J.D. Legends to watch in the company of like-minded fans. Other Franklin fans will make the trip to South Carolina to watch the game in person.
Luke is the tcenter of people's attention, either because of going to school with Luke, or his parents, or living down the street from them, or having one of them in class, or being one of the countless fans who enjoyed his days in a Franklin uniform. Every Wildcat feels a connection with Luke or a member of his family.
My sister Jenny Stewart summed it up well in a post last week as Luke helped Duke win the ACC Championship (and Luke was the tournament MVP): “Woo Hoo! Go LUKE!! I had to laugh at how many times the announcers bragged on Luke and I felt as though he were my son or I taught him how to play. LOL Ya’ can't help but be proud...”
Fittingly, one of the best responses came from Donna Priest, “I think he is everyone’s son in Franklin.” I agree.
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MARK KENNARD is the second child born to Frank Kennard and Louise St. John, who moved from Paintsville, Ky., to Franklin in the 60s when Frank and his brothers landed jobs at DP&L. The family lived on Park Avenue and all four Kennard children quickly became known as talented athletes.
Some of the most intense games around town were in the Kennard driveway, and sometimes did not involve anyone outside the family. Ronda, Class of 1980; Mark (’81), Todd (’84) and Wade (’87), all went on to be varsity starters at Franklin. “I just hoped to be the best player in my own house,” Mark says.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Coyner (’83) grew up as the youngest child born to George and Audrey Coyner, who met and married in West Virginia before moving to Franklin, where they lived in the Hunter area. The Coyner children went to Hunter school, swam at the Hunter pool and played ball on the fields behind the Methodist Church.
“It’s like I never saw Franklin until junior high school,” Jennifer says. Her oldest brother is Mike, and older sisters are Linda (Grooms), Susie (McCarter) and Missy.
George died in 2006 and Audrey passed away in 2008, meaning they have missed out on Luke’s ascension into national prominence. “Believe me, if dad were still alive, you’d hear him in the stands,” Jennifer says.
Mark and Jennifer attended Franklin High School one year together, Mark’s senior year, but they did not date. Jennifer, who was a good basketball player in her own right, remembers being impressed watching Mark play. “I thought he would go pro,” she says. A particular highlight was a game against Lakota when Mark made a half-court shot at the buzzer to win the game, and the crowd went berserk.
After high school, Mark went on to play at Georgetown College while Jennifer later earned a degree from Miami University. They married on June 16, 1987.
They became the proud parents of daughter Lauren three years later, when Mark was a coach in the Franklin basketball program. Naturally, when Lauren was old enough, Mark was willing to help her become a basketball player, if that’s what she wanted. “She had a nice shot,” Mark says. “I’d take her to the gym and work with her. But then she started putting all these bows and ribbons in her hair, like she was going to a beauty pageant. I’d say to Jennifer, ‘What in the world…’ Then one day she said to me, ‘Daddy, I don’t want to do this anymore.’” And being parents who did not pressure her, that was just fine.
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LUKE WAS BORN in 1996 and quickly showed his athletic talent. “One day when was eight months old, I went to pick him up at Mom and Dad’s, and Luke was sitting near a wall with his feet spread,” Jennifer says. “He knew that if he threw the ball against that wall, it would come back to him. Eight months old.”
Mark adds, “When he was a year old Todd bought him one of those baseball pop-up games. You know, you’d step on it and the ball pops up and you hit it with a bat. I said, ‘Todd, he can’t do that. He’s only a year old.’ Well, wouldn’t you know – this is the truth – probably when he was fourteen months old, he held that bat, he’d step on it, and then he’d hit that ball. I’d say, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Plus, he could already drop-kick a football. And I’m thinking, ‘The Lord has blessed him.’”
Mark said when Luke was five or six, he’d ask him whether he wanted a truck or some kind of toy for Christmas or his birthday. But Luke would always say no, he wanted a new ball instead. “We’d have games, but he didn’t want to mess with any of that,” Mark recalls. “He didn’t want to play cards, he didn’t want to play trucks. He just wanted to play ball.”
The Kennards’ basement is a sports haven. Mark and Luke played full-court basketball down there (a miniature version, of course, with Mark playing on his knees). They also played football, kickball and baseball. In addition, the house is near the large field behind Schenck Elementary School. For a time Evan Crowe lived with his family nearby, as did Jake Riddell. The boys ran around the neighborhood together, along with Matt Thompson, Dustin Williams, Brandon Sandlin and Drew Johnson.
“Luke will tell you he had a fun time growing up here,” Jennifer says.
“Oh yeah, he loves his friends,” Mark adds.
As Luke became well-known in basketball circles, speculation ran wild that he would transfer to a bigger school like Moeller once he got to high school, but that never happened. Luke was always genuinely proud to play for his hometown of Franklin, and always – sincerely – enjoyed playing alongside his lifelong friends.
Every time he was asked to comment on a personal achievement – whether it was passing LeBron James on the Ohio scoring list or twice being named Ohio Mr. Basketball (the accolades are extensive) – he deflected the attention by thanking his community, his school, his coaches, his family, and his friends for the support and guidance they always gave him.
Above all else, what he loved most was being a Franklin Wildcat.
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HE CHOSE DUKE in part because the small-town atmosphere of Durham, N.C., reminds him of small-town Franklin. But the other, more significant reason was Duke’s family atmosphere, led by its skillful patriarch, Coach K.
When Luke went on his official visit to the campus, he knew instantly Duke was where he wanted to be. Like he says when he gets on a run of three-pointers, Luke said, “I felt it.”
Though he knew for two weeks that Duke was his choice, he followed Mark and Jennifer’s advice to hold off making his public announcement. Just to be sure. Those may have been the most difficult two weeks of his life, because he desperately wanted to make it known.
Finally, on Sunday, March 23, 2014, he and Mark made the difficult phone calls to schools that he had been strongly considering – Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina and Michigan.
“I couldn’t even stay in the room,” Jennifer says.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Mark remembers.
Lastly, a final call was made to Coach K, who was asked if he could fly to Franklin the next day, even though he was not told of Luke’s decision.
Coach K flew into Middletown’s Hook Field. He arrived at Franklin High School under a shroud of secrecy, and then Luke looked the greatest coach of all time right in the eyes and had a little fun with him.
“You’re in my top three,” Luke said, without batting an eye.
Coach K was naturally a little shocked. “You mean, I flew all the way up here to just to hear THAT?”
Luke smiled.
“But I’m coming to Duke.”
Clearly, given the expression on his face Saturday night after the Blue Devils beat Notre Dame to win the ACC championship, Luke does not regret his selection. When asked about his achievement as tournament MVP, which is on top of making the ACC first team and the All-American second team, Luke deflected the attention by thanking his school, his Duke family and his coaches.
This year he has added yet another impressive chapter to a basketball story that is not only his story, but Franklin’s as well.
And you know what is the coolest thing of all?
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(at top, Luke points Duke in the right direction (Duke photo); at middle bottom, Tinsley Bales is shown in a photo taken by her mother, Jayme; at bottom right, Mark and Jennifer Kennard with Coach K in the Franklin locker room, a photo I took on December 12, 2014)
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(much of the information in this story was part of a book I wrote in 2015, "We Are Family, We Are Franklin," which is on sale in the Franklin H.S. athletic office. All proceeds benefit the Franklin Wildcat Scholarship Foundation).
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(at top, Luke points Duke in the right direction (Duke photo); at middle bottom, Tinsley Bales is shown in a photo taken by her mother, Jayme; at bottom right, Mark and Jennifer Kennard with Coach K in the Franklin locker room, a photo I took on December 12, 2014)
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(much of the information in this story was part of a book I wrote in 2015, "We Are Family, We Are Franklin," which is on sale in the Franklin H.S. athletic office. All proceeds benefit the Franklin Wildcat Scholarship Foundation).