Blake Francis (born January 3, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He played college basketball for the Wagner Seahawks and the Richmond Spiders.
![]() Francis with Richmond in 2021 | |
No. 1 – Medipolis SC Jena | |
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Position | Point guard |
League | ProA |
Personal information | |
Born | January 3, 1998 |
Nationality | American |
Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | |
College | |
NBA draft | 2021: undrafted |
Playing career | 2021–present |
Career history | |
2021–2022 | Westchester Knicks |
2022 | Newfoundland Growlers |
2022 | Capital City Go-Go |
2023 | Cleveland Charge |
2023 | Montreal Alliance |
2023-2024 | Medipolis SC Jena |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editAfter spending his freshman year at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, Francis transferred to Westfield High School in Chantilly, Virginia.[1] As a senior, he averaged 20.1 points per game and led Westfield to the Virginia 6A state championship, scoring 23 points against Oscar F. Smith High School in the title game.[2][3] He was a Second Team All-State selection.[4] Francis left as Westfield's all-time leading scorer, with 1,390 career points. He planned to attend prep school because he had no NCAA Division I scholarship offers. He accepted an offer from Wagner when a scholarship suddenly became available on the team because two-sport athlete Greg Senat had switched his scholarship from basketball to football.[5][6]
College career
editAs a freshman at Wagner, Francis averaged 7.2 points per game in a reserve role.[5] Due to the departures of important players after the season, he was given more opportunities as a sophomore.[7] On February 8, 2018, Francis scored a career-high 29 points in a 96–76 win over Bryant.[8] In his sophomore season, he averaged 17.3 points per game and made a program-record 102 three-pointers.[7] Francis was named to the Second Team All-Northeast Conference. He transferred to Richmond and sat out his next year per National Collegiate Athletic Association rules.[9] He was drawn to Richmond because his friend Cedrick Lindsay had played there and some of his former Amateur Athletic Union teammates were on the roster.[7]
During his redshirt year, he recovered from foot surgery.[4] On December 3, 2019, Francis matched his career-high of 29 points, shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range, in an 80–63 victory over Hampton.[10] On January 11, 2020, he suffered a sternal fracture when diving for a loose ball during a 75–58 loss against Saint Louis and was expected to miss four to six weeks.[11] He returned to action against Fordham on February 8 and finished with 18 points.[12] As a junior, Francis led the team in scoring with 17.7 points per game while also averaging 2.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.[13] He led Richmond to a program-record 14 conference wins. Francis declared for the 2020 NBA draft before withdrawing his name and opting to return to Richmond.[14]
After the 2020–21 season, Francis declined to take an additional year of eligibility granted to all players, instead opting for the 2021 NBA draft.[15]
Professional career
editWestchester Knicks (2021–2022)
editFrancis was drafted second round (15th pick overall) by the Raptors 905 in the 2021 NBA G League Draft.[16] However, he did not make the team's final roster.
On December 30, 2021, Francis was acquired by the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League.[17] Francis was then later waived on January 26, 2022.[18]
On February 8, 2022, Francis was acquired by the Raptors 905, but was waived on February 10.[18]
Capital City Go-Go (2022)
editOn March 9, Francis was acquired and activated by the Capital City Go-Go off of waivers.[18] He was later waived on November 14, 2022, and then re-acquired on December 3, and then waived again on December 9, 2022.[19][20]
Cleveland Charge (2023)
editOn February 11, 2023, Francis was acquired by the Cleveland Charge.[21]
Montreal Alliance (2023)
editOn May 4, 2023, Francis signed with the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[22] However, he was waived on July 2 after playing 7 games for the club.[23]
Medipolis SC Jena (2023-2024)
editOn July 27, 2023, Francis signed with Medipolis SC Jena of the second-tier German ProA for a contract duration of 1 year.[24]
Career statistics
editGP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
editYear | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016–17 | Wagner | 28 | 3 | 20.5 | .424 | .422 | .750 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .6 | .0 | 7.2 |
2017–18 | Wagner | 32 | 22 | 32.7 | .430 | .402 | .806 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.6 | .0 | 17.3 |
2018–19 | Richmond | Redshirt | ||||||||||
2019–20 | Richmond | 25 | 25 | 32.7 | .417 | .363 | .805 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.1 | .0 | 17.7 |
2020–21 | Richmond | 20 | 20 | 33.4 | .424 | .360 | .750 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 1.4 | .0 | 16.1 |
Career | 105 | 70 | 29.6 | .424 | .386 | .787 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.2 | .0 | 14.5 |
Personal life
editFrancis' older brother, Branden, played college football for Liberty. He is a cousin of former NFL player Marques Hagans and basketball player Tyler Thornton.[6]
References
edit- ^ Parker, Brandon (February 18, 2014). "Westfield's Blake Francis emerges as standout on young team". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ O'Connor, John (April 11, 2018). "Transfer guard Blake Francis has connections that helped him hook up with Spiders". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Blake Francis". University of Richmond Athletics. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ a b O'Connor, John (October 31, 2019). "Blake Francis has already been a Division I star, at Wagner. His new goal: help the Spiders win". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ a b Kussoy, Howie (December 15, 2017). "Wagner sophomore star won't go overlooked again". New York Post. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Blake Francis". Wagner College Athletics. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c O'Connor, John (July 30, 2020). "Spider Blake Francis' decision to transfer from Wagner looks better every day". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "First-Place Seahawks Soar Past Bryant 96–76 For Seventh Straight Win, Improving To 13–0 At Home". Wagner College Athletics. February 8, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "All-NEC Performer Blake Francis Will Transfer To Richmond". University of Richmond Athletics. April 10, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Francis scores 29 to carry Richmond over Hampton 80–63". ESPN. Associated Press. December 3, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Richmond leading scorer Blake Francis out 4–6 weeks". ESPN. January 16, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ O'Connor, John (February 13, 2020). "Blake Francis' handspring at La Salle was fine sign for UR as it preps for rematch vs. VCU". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Hajduczka, Krystian (April 7, 2020). "Three Richmond men's basketball players declare for the 2020 NBA Draft". The Collegian. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
- ^ "Francis, Gilyard, Golden Officially Withdraw From NBA Draft". University of Richmond Athletics. June 3, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ "Richmond's Blake Francis declares for 2021 NBA Draft". Augusta Free Press. April 13, 2020. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ "2021 NBA G League Draft Board". NBA G League. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
- ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "2022-23 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "2022-23 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022-23 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
- ^ "Montréal Alliance Announces Signing of American Point Guard Blake Francis". CEBL.ca. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ "Canadian shooting guard Negus Webster-Chan signs with Montréal Alliance". CEBL.ca. July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ^ "Medipolis SC Jena verpflichtet US-Amerikaner Blake Francis". www.baskets-jena.de (in German). 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2024-03-16.