Steve Francis, Maryland

Name:	Steve Francis
College:	Maryland
Height:	6'3"
Weight:	200
Class:	Sophomore
Position:	Point Guard
Other Position:	Shooting Guard
NBA.com profile

Stats (Provided by JazzyJ)

                  G  MIN  FG  FGA  3P 3PA  FT FTA  REB  PF AST  TO BLK STL  PTS
96-97 SanJacinto 35  971 138  248  15  39 146 184  263  74 264 104  15  82  437
97-98 Allegany   35  ... 295  561  91 241 204 248  248  81 304 134  40 187  885
98-99 Maryland   34 1034 205  392  45 116 124 157  154  95 152 102   6  95  579
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Div I TOTALS     34 1034 205  392  45 116 124 157  154  95 152 102   6  95  579

                  MIN   FG%   3P%   FT%  RPG  APG  TPG  BPG  SPG   PPG
96-97 SanJacinto 27.7  55.6  38.5  79.3  7.5  7.5  3.0  0.4  2.3  12.5
97-98 Allegany    ...  52.6  37.8  82.3  7.1  8.7  3.8  1.1  5.3  25.3
98-99 Maryland   30.4  52.3  38.8  79.0  4.5  4.5  3.0  0.2  2.8  17.0
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Div I TOTALS     30.4  52.3  38.8  79.0  4.5  4.5  3.0  0.2  2.8  17.0

Scouting reports

Scout: David Edelman [dedelman@acpub.duke.edu]

Looked terrible both times against Duke, so this evaluation may be more negative than it should be. But I have real doubts about how good a pro Francis is going to be. He's an extraordinary athlete who is as much fun to watch in transition as anybody in the NCAA (well, maybe Baron Davis). But he's not comfortable at all in the half-court offense, either at point or on the wing. He's not a particularly good long-range shooter nor does he distribute the ball well in the half-court. He's very intense, but he's often TOO intense; he tries to play beyond what he can handle in big games and makes crucial mistakes. He's a good rebounder for a guard and a decent man defender.

Francis is too good an athlete to wash out entirely. But he's awfully short to play off guard and will have to learn half-court point guard skills almost from scratch. If he can't do that he may end up more as an elite 6th man, an instant excitement off the bench type, than as a starting point guard. And you really don't want to spend an early or even mid- lottery pick on that kind of player. Very high upside, but I like other point guards better in this draft.

Scout: Jeffrey Burgoyne [burgoyne@ultimate-sports.com]

Very high in the draft lists of teams. He adds instance excitement and athleticism to any NBA team. With the need for PG expected to be high among the top teams in the draft, he's a sure top 5 pick. The concern on Francis seems to lie in the fact he tends to play more like a SG than a PG, and he doesn't have the hieght to play SG effectively. Neither does he have the range of a SG. Some people see an Allen Iverson type when they see Francis, but he just does not have Iversons speed.
Francis is a great player in transition and loves to run the court, but his ability to run a half court offense has been questioned. Certainly last year was his first year against top notch competition, so its expected he still has a fair upside to develop and while le learns a different role on the floor. When pitted against the tougher competition last year Francis did not respond as well as some scouts had hoped.

The transition to the NBA may not be easy for Francis, but in three years he will justify his draft position. PG's are notouriously slow to develop in the NBA, and Francis has to change his game to play PG in the NBA. I cannot think of an NBA player that Francis resembles coming into this draft.