DETROIT (1/27/2020) -- The name Russell and basketball are synonymous with greatness in the State of Michigan. Frank Russell was a big reason why that's the case. 
 
The brother of Campy and Walker Russell, Frank made a name for himself as one of the best scorers in the country for the University of Detroit Mercy as he followed in the footsteps of such standouts as Dave DeBusschere and Spencer Haywood. 
 
"During the recruiting process, I came down that particular year and saw Spencer Haywood at a game. I liked the atmosphere that was in the gym and so forth, and then after the season Tom (Villemure), who was at that time, Bob Calihan's Assistant Coach actually came down and spoke to me and so forth and so on. I was actually going to go to the University of the Pacific in California. The situation that happened was Bill Norton, who was then the coach at (Birmingham) Brother Rice turned Villemure on to me, and then I came down for a visit, and I actually had a workout. I came in as a result of that. It was a good fit for both of us, and we both recognized that right away." 
 
In his three seasons with the Titans, he tallied 1,188 points, which was the seventh in school history when he graduated, and he helped bring the Titans back to national prominence, taking the team from 7-18 in his first year to 18-6 as a senior with wins over Xavier, Boston College, Dayton and a crushing of number two and previously unbeaten Marquette. 
 
In his first year as a Titan, he led the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game and upped that to 15.8 as a junior and 16.2 as a senior. 
 
"I had arguably the best coach in America (Jim Harding)," Russell said. "This guy was on the level of Bobby Knight and all of those guys, technician wise. I basically learned how to play. I learned how to be more efficient, and I learned when to take the shots and how to play better as a teammate as well. It's really all about coaching. I was the type of player to come to practice every day fifteen, twenty minutes early and I worked on my game. Nothing mystical about it. Just hard work and being in a situation where I had a coach who actually knew what he was doing." 
 
That senior season saw Marquette visit Calihan Hall late in the year at 22-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country, but Russell hit all seven of his shots from the field and finished with 16 points and the Titans routed the Warriors 70-49. 
 
He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the third round of the 1972 NBA Draft and played in 23 games during the 1971-72 season, scoring his career-high 11 points in a visit to Cobo Arena against Detroit.

After his career was over, he dedicated himself to helping the public and was a Youth Advisor for his hometown city of Pontiac before going on to attend law school at Texas Southern University.

After that, he founded The Youth Development Institute in Pontiac, where he helped plan, develop and implement programs and projects that are designed to help youth and adults reach their full potential.

He also worked in Oakland County in Human Resources for over 30 years and help foundered the Pontiac News in February 2007, dedicated to providing balanced news about the County of Oakland, the Region and the surrounding counties.
 
"I had two older brothers who one of them literally could make bank shots while shooting pool. Fantastic athletes and they were also the toughest guys in the neighborhood. Everybody respected them. They made it possible for myself and my other brothers to play with the older guys. Because their position was that if Frank and Campy don't play, then we're going to shut the playground down. We really didn't compete against each other because there was so much other competition out there. During that time, there was a lot of guys coming back and forth from college and what not and the playground was right around the corner from where we lived." 
 
No stone was unturned in the development of the Brothers' Russell. Like many young athletes, sacrifice is tantamount to reaching of goals. Training long hours requires many components, and for upstart athletes, nutrition is the key building block to optimizing athletic performance. The recipe for Frank was staying active, staying engrossed, and staying nourished. 
 
"We had parents that worked hard and allowed us the opportunity to play basketball but not just basketball, we played other sports; football, basketball, horseshoes, and in the wintertime we skated. We were outside all the time. They key to that whole story I just talked about, about the five of us playing at such a high level, is that we were the healthiest young men in the Pontiac community. My father had a big garden in the backyard. We were fed literally homegrown food that was grown by my father. Growing up in Pontiac, at that time was a great place. We had great coaches, and there were some great teams that came out of Pontiac Central High School." 

A Titan of legendary status on the court and in the community, he helped bring the Titans back to dominant status just liked he helped the youth in his community and served his hometown of Pontiac. 
 
Congratulations Frank Russell on your induction into the Titan Hall of Fame.