Steve going back to school in offseason

Smart move: Francis finds room to score in class, too

Mike Preston

July 5, 2001

Steve Francis is taking advantage of the system.

Again.

Nearly two years ago, critics were questioning if he could make it big in the NBA after playing only one season, his junior year, at the University of Maryland. Could he handle the point guard position in the NBA? Did he lack discipline because he only stayed in the system for a year? Would the physical style be too much for him on a nightly basis?

And then came the ultimate insult: Some people insinuated that if Francis left Maryland early, he wouldn't come back to get his college degree because he was too dumb.

Francis, then an underclassman, took the money and ran to the 1999 NBA draft, when he was the No. 2 overall pick of the Vancouver Grizzlies, and later traded to the Houston Rockets. But now he is laughing all the way to the bank and back to the classroom at Maryland, flourishing in a system that has exploited athletes for years.

Instead of just "hanging out" and waiting for another basketball season to start, Francis is taking six credits this off-season at his
alma mater. He says he is 18 short of earning a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice.

That's a tough combination to beat: a man with millions and a quality education.

Thank goodness for Grandma, Mable Wilson, 66, to whom Francis made a promise years ago.

"The ultimate goal was for me to return," said Francis, "The other students know who I am, but they don't say much. I just smile. There were a lot of people who said that when I left school I wasn't coming back, that I was too stupid. But I know life isn't all about basketball.

"It can play a certain part in your life, but you can't play it for 20 or 30 years," said Francis, the league's Co-Rookie of the Year
in 2000. "I'm going into my third year, but I'm preparing for life after the game."

Francis is part of a slow but growing trend in the NBA. While the number of NBA players going back to school isn't as overwhelming as those leaving early in college, more players like Francis, Jerry Stackhouse, Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter are either going back or have gone back to earn their degrees.

Finally.

For years, players were as greedy as the colleges and the NBA. They made quick, big money but neglected to go back to their respective universities which had made millions off them and other student athletes.

When their playing careers were over, a lot of them suffered financially, socially, mentally and physically. Meanwhile, the beat goes on at the universities and in the NBA.

But now the players are starting to point fingers at themselves.

"I think players are realizing the sooner you go back and get your degree, the better," said Jamison. "Some kids give leaving early a bad reputation, but a lot of them come back because they realize education is really going to help you."

Let's give the NBA a little credit, but not a lot. It has put out a message, some for public relations, about the importance of
obtaining a degree with a "Stay In School Program."

But that's apparently for players who already are in the league, and not in the cradle. The NBA robbed it this year when four of the top eight draft picks came from high school. That's unpardonable, dangling a several million-dollar carrot in front of a kid who has done most of his shopping at K-Mart. No one can blame the player for taking the money and running.

But with players like Francis, there is now a greater chance and more of an awareness to beat the system before it beats you. The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett, both drafted out of high school, are working on college degrees.

"I believe what I'm doing is sending a positive message to kids," said Francis, who has worked hard to clean up an old image that portrayed him as young and spoiled. "I'm a little disturbed about the number of high school players being drafted because they are not playing at a level where they need to be at playing in the NBA. Anybody can go out and dunk 100 times in an All-Star game [in high school]. That's when they start believing the hype.

"They play in these CYO leagues where they dominate, and then the next season they have to play against a Kevin Garnett, Karl Malone, a Kobe or myself and they don't play as well as predicted," he said. "It's obvious that they are not ready."

Francis made the move to the NBA when he was already touted as one of the best players in college basketball. Francis averaged 18 points, five rebounds and 6.6 assists a game, but still had to go through a learning experience.

"I had to learn that everybody is good at playing, and they're good all the time," said Francis. "In this league, you have to be
fundamentally sound or you won't make it."

He supports the decision of shooting guard Juan Dixon to stick around Maryland for his senior season. He said he didn't offer him any advice, but Dixon is aware and excited about the team trying to return to the Final Four.

That wasn't a realistic goal for the Terps when Francis played. But he knew after averaging 17 points and 4.5 assists at Maryland that he was going to be one of the top players drafted.

But a lot people didn't expect him to return to Maryland to get his degree.

He is winning again.

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EDDIE, EDDIE, EDDIE!!!

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[This message has been edited by The Cat (edited July 06, 2001).]