Ben Franzen put his time in as an assistant boys basketball coach for nine seasons.
The 30-year-old received his first shot as a head coach when the administration at Bishop Brossart named him the head coach of the Mustangs. Franzen takes over for Scott Code, who was Franzen’s head coach at Campbell County.
“Bishop Brossart High School also would also like to extend a gratitude of thanks to Scott Code,” Bishop Brossart principal Chris Holtz said. “Coach Code recently stepped down as head coach due to family obligations. Coach Code led our program for the past two seasons and had to deal with all the challenges of the COVID pandemic. We thank him for his guidance and hard work and wish him and his family the very best.”
Franzen is a 2009 graduate of Campbell County High School, where he lettered in both basketball and baseball for the Camels. He then earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Northern Kentucky University in 2013 and took a job at Highlands under boys basketball Head Coach Kevin Listerman as the freshmen head coach for three seasons. He guided Highlands to the region crown during the 2014-2015 season.
“He’s a professional. We’re thrilled to have him on board,” said Ron Verst, Bishop Brossart director of athletics. “Look where he’s been. Look at what he’s done. He knows the dynamics of our school.”
Franzen then joined the staff under Head Coach Scott Ruthsatz at Covington Catholic in 2016 and assisted a team that won four 9th Region titles during that time and the second of two state championships in school history in 2018.
“I’ve been fortunate to learn from both of them,” Franzen said of Ruthsatz and Listerman. “The success they’ve had, I’m excited to bring all of the good things from both those programs into this program, build on what they’ve already done a good job of at Brossart and build some excitement within the Brossart community.”
Franzen served as the junior varsity head coach at CovCath. He guided the Colonels to perfect back-to-back seasons, a combined 47-0, including two consecutive Northern Kentucky region tournament crowns in 2017 and 2018. Franzen has also worked several summer camps for Michigan State University Head Coach Tom Izzo in East Lansing, Michigan.
“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Ruthsatz said. “He’s earned the right to become a head coach. I think Bishop Brossart is a great fit for him. Obviously going to Campbell County, he knows the area.”
Franzen teaches 5th grade at Crossroads Elementary in Cold Spring and lives in Alexandria. He noted the commute will be shorter to Bishop Brossart than to CovCath in Park Hills. He also likes the faith aspect at Bishop Brossart.
“That’s something that we had at CovCath as well,” Franzen said. “These men grew not just in basketball, but in life as well. I think that’s a bigger opportunity in and of itself not to just build basketball players, but to build nice young men as well. In my case, I’m a small part of that along with their parents, their teachers and everybody else involved. I’ve been excited with the great support staff that I’ve felt since I came on board here. I wasn’t expecting that. I know there’s more people that I haven’t met that I’m excited to meet as well.”
Bishop Brossart finished 12-19 last year. The program graduated just one senior but it was leading scorer David Govan, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound center who averaged 14.9 points per game. Though it was a losing season, eight of those losses were within four points or fewer.
“Don’t think you can do it all in one year,” Ruthsatz said. “It’s going to take several years of just putting the extra time in the gym. That’s what I told him. You have to be in the gym with your guys and you have to coach them up. That’s all you can do, especially in the early stages. You have to see who you got. You have to give the younger kids the opportunity to come up and help.”
The Mustangs return 11 juniors listed on the roster. That starts with the leading returning scorer in 6-1 forward Mason Sepate. Sepate averaged 11.5 points per game last year.
“We know he’s a good coach. He’s already bringing positivity to us,” Sepate said. “Looking to get better every day is really the goal so we’re looking forward to it. We’re just trying to come together as a group, lock in and do as many things as we can.”
Bishop Brossart lost 75-32 to Campbell County in the 37th District championship game. The Mustangs then lost 69-50 to Mason County in the 10th Region quarterfinals at Holmes. The Mustangs last won a district tournament championship in 2013. Bishop Brossart has lost nine straight against the cross-town rival Campbell County Camels dating back to a 47-45 win on Jan. 8, 2016.
“It’s going to be great with an experienced group coming back seeing how it’s a tough (10th) region,” Franzen said. “You have (George Rogers) Clark who wins it all and (the Cardinals) have a lot coming back. You have Campbell (County), who was really good last year and they have pretty much everyone back. It’s a tough district and a tough region throughout the state. We have our hands full. But we’ll do what we can to make ourselves better and hopefully put ourselves in good position to do some good things.”
Franzen said it’s too early to tell what kind of offense and defense the Mustangs might run. He also said putting together a coaching staff is a work in progress.
“We’re trying to establish something and get in the gym. That’s something we’ll do a lot of this summer not necessarily play a bunch of games but do a lot of skill development in the gym with ourselves and make improvements,” Franzen said. “That’s something that the Highlands and the CovCaths of the world do as well, not just spending time, but spending efficient time in the gym making the most of the time while you are here. I think that’s an adjustment at Brossart as well. You share a lot of kids with a lot of other sports with it being a smaller school. But I think that’s a good thing as well. I think kids get their minds into other things and they’re not always thinking about just basketball.”
Bishop Brossart participates in the All A Tournament and has had success in it historically with 15 All A 10th Region titles. The Mustangs won the All A state title in 2007.
“I think I’m getting acclimated to the whole All A realm,” Franzen said. “But I know talking to people since I stepped into here has created some excitement for me having not been through it before learning how it works and seeing how much pride these All A schools take in that tournament. I’m excited to be a part of it and see what we can do in it this coming year.”
Bishop Brossart last won the All A 10th Region title in 2020. The drawings came out for 2023 and Bishop Brossart will play Nicholas County in the All A 10th Region quarterfinals on Jan.7 at Paris.
