By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 1999 Houston Chronicle WASHINGTON -- When Steve Francis last walked into the MCI Center, he had no idea where his life would take him. He had made the short drive from his Tacoma Park, Md., home to the NBA draft and the start of his career. He left the arena that night with no better idea. He was selected by the Grizzlies, but never expected to play for Vancouver. He made little effort to hide his disappointment. He returns to the home of the Washington Wizards today with no such doubts. As hexed as the Rockets' season might have seemed at times this year, Francis came home unbowed. The luck of a road game to his hometown falling the day after his first Christmas in the NBA seemed just the latest example of what he considers his good fortune since the deal that brought his deliverance from Vancouver and to Houston. As uncertain as he was about his career the last time he appeared at MCI Center, he said he now has no doubts. "I definitely envision my whole career here," Francis said before his Christmas Eve flight home. "I envision moving from my small house to a big mansion somewhere in River Oaks. One day, I'll have a big, old house. My baby Rottweiler will be a big dog. I'll start and finish my career like Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon)." Though just a third of the way into his rookie season, the Rockets hardly could have dreamed of a more valuable gift to find under the tree. The Rockets might be struggling. But Francis will come home in many ways triumphant, having shown all the promise that had made him the second player chosen in the draft and the inspiration of the largest trade in NBA history. He leads the league's rookies in scoring and assists, a double unmatched since Michael Jordan was a rookie in the 1984-85 season. He has remained a staple of the nightly highlights. Of the six point guards taken in the NBA draft last June, Francis is the only player averaging in double figures, his 17.1 points per game average leading the Hawks' Jason Terry's 9.2 by a wide margin. His 4.9 rebounds per game average leads the Cavaliers' Andre Miller by more than two rebounds. His six assists lead Miller by 1.2. Francis also gets more minutes and has been given greater responsibility. But more than the numbers that seemed certain, he has proved a determination to develop as a playmaker that demonstrates greater promise than statistics. "You hear so many times the really great players make other people better," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I think he's progressing very well. "He had a couple of adjustments to make. Coming into the league is a big adjustment. Then being a point guy where he played off the ball for many years. Just all the responsibilities that come with it and the attention that comes from his teammates because he's got the ball and everybody's in his ear. "Here he is trying to go out and do the right things. There's so many more responsibilities than just going out and playing. He's done such a good job with all that." In many ways, Tomjanovich considered Francis' last game most indicative of that. There have been other more dominant all-around games. He had 18 points, 12 assists and six rebounds against Indiana. He burned Seattle and Gary Payton for 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists. With Vancouver fans throwing everything from fruit to loathing at him, he scored 24 points, including a jumper to force overtime, 10 assists and nine rebounds. In his next game, he had 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds against Jason Kidd and the Suns. But against the Wizards on Thursday, he showed off how much more in command he has become. "I'm in more of a control now than early in the season," Francis said. "I was a team player before I came here, but now I'm even more. I look to pass before I do everything." His shot was clearly off from the outset Thursday. He made just one of his first nine shots, scoring only on a fast-break, alley-oop pass from Cuttino Mobley. But he made five of his last nine, including a key fourth-quarter trey. He moved easily to a playmaking role, collecting 11 assists without a turnover. "Steve was phenomenal, really conscientious," Tomjanovich said. "I can't tell you how much I like this kid. He's super talented. He can do so many things. But he's very conscientious about being a complete player and getting his teammates involved. Sometimes, he overdoes it. "Boy, you've got those kinds of qualities, I think he's got a great future." Francis does not put it so directly, but he agrees. It is his future, he said, that inspired him to concentrate on developing as a playmaker. He said it would be a greater accomplishment to make his team better than to lead it in scoring. He had been compared to score-first guards Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. But Tomjanovich has at times had to instruct Francis to look for his shot more often. His friends, Francis said, tell him to be more selfish. "Everybody tells me that," Francis said. " `Man, what are you doing? Why are you passing the ball? You can score 30 a night.' I tell them, it's not about that. It's about developing into a point guard, not just to score more, but to being a good point guard. I plan on playing in the NBA for a long time." Francis is more interested in modeling his style after the Wizards' Rod Strickland, a gifted playmaker and slasher who never has been a threat to lead the league in scoring. "He's a good point guard, solid," Francis said. "That's how he is. He'd rather take two shots and have 15 assists. That's definitely someone I would emulate as a passer, ball-handler and finisher. He can't fly like me though." Few can. But Francis has not shown he can be the unstoppable scorer Iverson and Marbury can be. He said that is by choice. "I think I have the ability to score as much as those guys do," Francis said. "My role is different from them. My coaches tell me they want me to average a certain amount of points and take a certain amount of shots. It wouldn't be hard to do. Anybody can put up shots. Of course, you have to make them. "Those are good guards, don't get me wrong. Their mentality is score first. I can score. But I want to set everything up, make sure everyone is happy." Along those lines, he said there is nothing he wanted to find waiting when he arrived home for Christmas. "I want to give," he said. "I don't really want anything in return. I just want to make sure people are happy and my teammates are happy." But even if he did not bring a personal wish list, he did have plans for the holiday. A Christmas Eve party and a visit to a local recreation center where he had sent gifts and would bring game tickets were planned. There was a family Christmas dinner Saturday, another with friends for after the game tonight. He made arrangements for 150 tickets to today's game for family and friends and more for kids at the rec center. And he planned hours of rest. "I'm going to go to my grandmother's house and eat," he said, with his grandmother's macaroni and cheese particularly in mind. "No cameras can follow me to my grandmother's house. I'm going to sit in the house and relax on Christmas Day." By Monday, he would catch an early flight back to Houston. But this time, when he left the MCI Center, he said he knew where he would be going. There are even other plans for that River Oaks neighborhood. "Cuttino will have to be at least two houses away," he said. "Next door would be too much. If we're married by then, we'd probably get divorced because our wives wouldn't like that." What a guy he is.
