Steve Francis

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Steve Francis

Position	Point guard/Shooting guard
Nickname	Stevie Franchise, Steve-O, The Franchise
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Team	New York Knicks
Nationality	United States
Born	February 21, 1977 (age 30) Takoma Park, Maryland
College	Maryland
Draft	2nd overall, 1999 Vancouver Grizzlies
Pro career	1999–present
Former teams	Houston Rockets (1999–2004) Orlando Magic (2004–2006)
Awards	1999-00 Schick NBA Co-Rookie of the Year 3-Time NBA All-Star

Steve D'Shawn Francis (born February 21, 1977 in Takoma Park, Maryland, U.S.) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA. He is nicknamed "Stevie Franchise" and self-described as "Steve-O".

Contents 1 University of Maryland 2 Houston Rockets (1999-2004) 3 Orlando Magic (2004-2006) 4 New York Knicks (2006-Present) 5 Personal 6 Trivia 7 External links

[edit] University of Maryland

Francis transferred to the University of Maryland in 1998 for his junior season after two highly regarded seasons at junior colleges in Texas and Maryland. The addition of Francis helped propel the Terrapins to a #5 preseason ranking. Francis made an instant impact as Maryland's starting shooting guard, scoring 17 points in the season opener against Western Carolina. Francis and the Terps gained national attention with impressive showings in the Puerto Rico Shootout and a 62-60 win over #5 Stanford in the BB&T Classic. The Terps climbed to a #2 national ranking by early December.

The Terrapins finished second in the ACC in the 98-99 season with a 13-3 record, losing only to Duke (twice) and Wake Forest. They were defeated by UNC in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. Francis was named to the All-ACC first team and the All ACC Tournament team. The Terrapins were a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but were defeated by St. John's in the Sweet 16. Under Francis' leadership, Maryland finished with a school record-setting 28 wins and only 6 losses and were ranked #5 in the final Associated Press poll.

Francis finished the season averaging 17 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, and 2.8 steals per game. He was a consensus second team All-American and was named a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards. Although he stated he was "99% sure" he would return to Maryland for his senior season, he opted to enter the NBA draft.

On February 17, 2002, Francis' #23 jersey was honored (not retired) by Maryland in a ceremony preceding the game against the #1 ranked Duke Blue Devils. Francis sat on the team's bench during the game and cheered as the Terrapins upset the Blue Devils 87-73.

[edit] Houston Rockets (1999-2004)

He was the 2nd overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies out of the University of Maryland. He famously cried after being chosen by Vancouver, swearing the Chicago Bulls would regret selecting Elton Brand first overall instead. He also publicly announced that he did not want to play for the Grizzlies, citing the distance from his Maryland home, taxes, endorsements, and God's will. Francis was heavily criticized for his antics, especially in Vancouver. [1]

He was subsequently traded to the Houston Rockets that summer in a three-team, 11-player deal that brought Michael Dickerson, Othella Harrington, Antoine Carr, Brent Price, plus first- and second-round picks to the Grizzlies. He and Brand shared Rookie of the Year honors.

In his rookie year he was the runner up to Vince Carter in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest. But in Steve's third year, 2001-02, he was affected by an inner ear disorder called Menieres disease, which gave him daily migraine headaches. The disorder, along with a foot injury, forced Francis to miss about 20 games.

In Houston, he formed an electric backcourt tandem with Cuttino Mobley, and had Yao Ming in the pivot. Francis was an All-Star in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and valued for his explosiveness to the basket, but was also criticized for his perceived selfishness and labeled a liability on defense.

When Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down in 2003, Jeff Van Gundy became the replacement coach. Jeff Van Gundy's coaching style did not fit Steve's style of play, even though he made the all star game in the 2003-04 season, his stats declines from 21.0 PPG 6.2 APG 6.2 RPG to 16.6 PPG 5.5 RPG 6.2 APG. The Houston Rockets made the playoffs that year in 2003-04, Steve Francis's first playoff appearance. But they ran into the powerful Los Angeles Lakers and lost that series 4 games to 1. As his relationship with coach Van Gundy deteriorated it was apparent that the Rocket franchise wanted to go into a different direction. Ultimately, when coach Jeff Van Gundy sought to make Yao the focus of the Rocket's offensive attack, Francis became disgruntled, leading to the end of his tenure with the club.

[edit] Orlando Magic (2004-2006)

On June 29, 2004, Francis, the formerly nicknamed "Stevie Franchise" (self-described "Steve-O") was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato in a seven-player deal that sent Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines to Houston.

At first, Francis was unhappy with the trade, but adapted to his new environment. Francis flourished in the "run n' gun" offense of interim head coach Chris Jent. After posting a career-low 16.6 points per game the previous year with the Rockets, Steve averaged 21.3 PPG 7.0 APG 5.8 RPG in his first season with the Magic, though he was disgruntled with the early trade of Steve's backcourt mate and best friend Cuttino Mobley. The Magic started out the year fast in the 2004-05 season, with Steve providing great play, getting a couple of game-winning layups early in the year. They slumped late and missed the playoffs, but it seemed the Magic were heading in a positive direction.

The 2005-06 season saw a different Steve Francis. With the development of Magic forward Dwight Howard and point guard Jameer Nelson, as well as the successful return of Grant Hill, Steve fell into a mid-season slump. His scoring average and assist-per-turnover ratio fell, and his attitude, both on and off the court, was noticeably less enthusiastic. When Nelson and Hill were injured, his stats returned to All-Star levels, but upon Nelson's return, Steve returned to his slump.

On January 12, 2006, Francis was suspended indefinitely by the Magic for reportedly refusing to re-enter a game during the waning minutes of a blowout loss.

On February 5, 2006, there were rumors that he could be traded to the Denver Nuggets for Earl Watson but they were later dismissed and GM Otis Smith publicly announced that he would not trade Francis. However, rumors persisted that Francis would be traded to the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics, or even back to his former team, the Houston Rockets.

[edit] New York Knicks (2006-Present)

On 22 February, one day before the NBA's trade deadline, Steve Francis was traded to the New York Knicks for small forward Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of shooting guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. Prior to the trade, the Denver Nuggets reportedly offered both Watson and Kenyon Martin for Francis, but the deal never took place. He made his Madison Square debut on Friday, February 24th when the Knicks faced the New Jersey Nets, and scored 16 points in a 94-90 loss for the Knicks. He wears the jersey number 1 as a Knick as his original number 3 was a number already assigned to Stephon Marbury. Steve has endured a recurring injury, tendinitis in his right knee, and as a result began the 2006-07 season averaging only 10 ppg, as opposed to his career 18.4 ppg. He returned on February 10, 2007 vs the Utah Jazz. Tendinitis in his right knee has his career in jeopardy.On March 10th, Francis hit a game winning 3 pointer at the buzzer against the Washington Wizards, ending one of his best games as a Knick in front of his hometown.

[edit] Personal

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Francis's mother died when he was a teenager, and he has a tattoo on his arm in her memory. Every time Steve is about to shoot a free throw, he will always touch the tattoo and then shoot the free throw, a ritual honoring his mother. [2]

His offseason home is in Houston, with his wife and a newborn child. [3]

[edit] Trivia

• Francis' home is in the Galveston Bay Estates Complex in Galveston, Texas, the home was featured on the show MTV Cribs and the short-lived show A Day in the Life.
• The Francis Home is a playable area in the Midway Sports title NBA Ballers.
• Francis attended San Jacinto College as a freshman, and Allegany Community College as a sophomore before transferring to the University of Maryland in his junior year.
• Francis attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• In the fall of 2001 a tornado struck the campus of the University of Maryland, and Francis returned to host a dinner for students displaced by the storm.

[edit] External links

• NBA.com bio

EA Sports NBA Live Cover Athletes

'95: 1994 NBA Finals action shot | '96: Shaquille O'Neal | '97: Mitch Richmond | '98: Tim Hardaway | '99: Antoine Walker | '00: Tim Duncan | '01: Kevin Garnett | '02: Steve Francis | '03: Jason Kidd | '04: Vince Carter | '05: Carmelo Anthony | '06: Dwyane Wade, Yuta Tabuse (Japanese cover) | '07: Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol (Spanish cover), Boris Diaw & Tony Parker (French cover), Dirk Nowitzki (German cover)