A'Quonesia Krashun Franklin (born September 29, 1985), also known as Aqua, is an American basketball coach and former player. She played two seasons in the WNBA. She was a three-year captain of the Texas A&M team from the 2005–06 to 2007–08 seasons. She received

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honorable mention honors from the

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two times, and has also received all-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

honors. In May 2019, she was named the head coach of the

Lamar University Lamar University (Lamar or LU) is a public university in Beaumont, Texas. Lamar has been a member of the Texas State University System since 1995. It was the flagship institution of the former Lamar University System. As of the fall of 2021, t ...

women's basketball team.

Playing career

Early years

Born and raised in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, Franklin attended

John Tyler High School Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade. In 2020, the Tyler I. S. D. school ...

, where she earned first team all-state, first team All-East Texas, and first team all-regional honors as a senior. She earned district

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors both her junior and senior year. She was also named the East Texas MVP her senior years. As a senior, her team won the district championship and reached the regional semifinals. She averaged 12 points and three assists as a junior, and averaged 14.5 points and six assists as a senior. She played in the Texas Girls Coaches Association Texas-Oklahoma All-Star game. During the summer after her senior year, she won an AAU championship with the Houston Elite team. She chose to attend Texas A&M over

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

, and

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

College

During her freshman season at Texas A&M, she was the only freshman in the Big 12 to start as a point guard. She was named

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

of the Week for three weeks. She received All-

honorable mention her sophomore season. In her junior season, she helped the Aggies win the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

regular season title, becoming a part of the first Texas A&M team to do so. She was named to the All-

First Team after the regular season. She was also named Big 12 Player of the Week for two weeks. Her team received a No. 4 bid to play in the 2007 NCAA basketball tournament. The team defeated Texas-Arlington in the first round but lost to

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

in the second round. She received

honorable mention honors by the

after the tournament. In her senior season, she made the All-

Second Team. The Aggies won the Big 12 Tournament, and received an automatic bid to play in the 2008 NCAA basketball tournament. She and her team were able to defeat 15th-seeded UTSA in the first round,

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

in the second, and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

in the Sweet Sixteen matchup. They advanced to the Elite Eight to play 7-time national champion

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and lost 53–45. After the tournament, Franklin received honorable mention

honors by the

. She would finish her A&M career with 627 assists, ranking fourth all-time in A&M women's basketball history. In 2018 she was named to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Texas A&M statistics

Source

Professional

Franklin was selected by the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

at No. 38 in the

2008 WNBA draft The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9. A lottery was held on Octobe ...

. In her rookie season, Franklin played in 34 games and averaged 1.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Her team fell to San Antonio in the first round of the

2008 WNBA Playoffs The 2008 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2008 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion San Antonio Silver Stars 3-0. Forma ...

. After the

ended, Franklin signed with Basketligan dam club Solna Vikings in October 2008. In her debut, she posted 13 points and 3 rebounds in a victory against Luleå Basket. In 9 Basketligan games for the Vikings, she averaged 6.3 points and 2.8 assists. She also appeared in 8 games in the EuroCup, averaging 8.4 points and 4.0 assists. On March 20, 2009 the Phoenix Mercury traded

Barbara Farris Barbara Farris, (born September 10, 1976), is a retired basketball player formerly of the WNBA. On May 29, 2009, Farris signed with the Detroit Shock. Farris previously played for the New York Liberty. In the 2007 season she played in 28 regula ...

to the

for Franklin and Kim Smith. In May 2009, she signed with the Seattle Storm on a training camp contract. She was waived by the Storm on June 4 before signing again with the team on September 10.

WNBA career statistics

=Regular season

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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=Postseason

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Coaching career

Franklin returned to Texas A&M to pursue her graduate education. She also served as a color analyst for the women's basketball team. She served as a graduate assistant for Aggies head coach Gary Blair. She became an assistant coach for Stephen F. Austin Women's Basketball Team in May 2010. After 1 year at SFA she joined Kansas Jayhawks. She became an assistant coach for the Kansas Jayhawks women's basketball team in May 2011. After one season with the Jayhawks, she joined the Mississippi State Lady Bulldog staff in 2012.

References

External links

* *
WNBA Training Camp interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, A'Quonesia 1985 births Living people American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Texas Basketball players from Texas Lamar Lady Cardinals basketball coaches Point guards Sacramento Monarchs players Seattle Storm players Solna Vikings players Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball players 21st-century American women