The Road Diary: Robert Franks

Robert Franks has already won the hearts of the Adelaide 36ers faithful.

With chants of 'MVP' rang around the Adelaide Entertainment Centre as the power forward hit three game-winning free throws in a thrilling comeback win over Cairns Taipans and the significant impact in the history-making win over the Phoenix Suns in the NBL x NBA tour, Franks has certainly been embraced.

It's also been a quick embrace for the man who joined from the Brisbane Bullets in the off-season, a move which stemmed from a call from coach CJ Bruton and the chance to play alongside good friend Antonius Cleveland, who had joined from Illawarra Hawks.

"I was in Brisbane last year, CJ called this off-season and gave me a pitch of wanting to come and team up with Antonius Cleveland," Franks said.

"AC and I were already good friends, same agency, it all just made sense.

"We had the same agent for quite a while and we'd always be in the summer working together.

"We weren't as tight as we are now, but being around him, working out with him and building that relationship has been great."

Never previously teammates, he and Cleveland have developed a bond both on and off the court, and Franks cherishes every second of it.

"It's been awesome [getting to know him more], his personality, how kind he is, how much of a people person he is...we've grown tremendously throughout this season, he said.

"He's a guy who has been in the States and when you get homesick you can talk to him, we've hung out tons of times.

"It's been great having that connection with him all year."

It was only fitting he and Cleveland would share a history-making moment together, as the Adelaide 36ers became the first NBL team to beat an NBA team with the win over the Phoenix Suns.

It's a moment that Franks said he'll never forget.

"It was honestly remarkable, from that whole trip to beat the Suns, to have that game we had as a collective unit," he said.

"It's something I'll cherish forever, it was great to have family there who was able to support, that's one of my best basketball memories."

Yet, the move to Adelaide almost didn't eventuate for Franks, with an offer from Russia on the table in the off-season following the NBA Summer League.

"The Summer League was awesome, getting to play against NBA guys, be in an NBA organisation and learn from the best of the best, it's something you've got to be grateful for," he said.

"For all good reasons I'm here, but I was sold on going to Russia and starting my basketball career in Europe.

"It came after the Summer League, a couple of weeks before I was supposed to arrive here.

"They gave me an offer that I couldn't really resist, but I was injured at the time, and I didn't pass my physical.

"I called CJ and the coaching staff and was like 'hey, do you guys wanna welcome me back?' and that's how that went down."

But rather than moving to the northern hemisphere, Franks has found home in Adelaide and identified some of his favourite spots.

"Adelaide is more of a laid back city and I'm a homebody, I don't really like to do much, I enjoy my time staying right by the beach and going to the malls when I'm bored," he said.

"This last six, seven months being here and adapting to a new environment has been great.

"Henley Beach is a big one, walking the beach, a lot of food spots down there and I'm able to ease my mind down there off a lot of things."

On court, Franks said it's been an 'up and down' season.

"The adversity is the challenge, no matter what the outcome is, still trying to come in and work hard and be the pro's pro," he said.

"I like to get back to the basics [after a loss], get back to what you know, watch film, get back in the gym and regroup.

"It's something that stings and hard to swallow, but in this profession, anything is possible and everything continues to go on, so you need to stick to that routine."