chron: Let's hope Francis gets the Big O's message

Wow, I'm surprised that it is real. Kudos to Fran for a great article. My apologies for misleading anyone, I was way off.

I agree with HP though that's it's kind of depressing. The article reinforces the cartoonish image of Francis as a kid that the "haters" have been pushing on this site. That "we" has been bothering me too. The thing is, Franics NEVER blames himself. But to improve, he should evaluate every loss as if he could have done something better.

I'm glad you brought up the circumstances of his arrival HP. I think that could very well contribute to his immaturity. I never liked how that went down.

 

This was a great article. Let's hope Franchise listens. I got the feelin' Stevie was listening and that will translate into more shots for the big man (I hope).

 

what the crap? the fans have been screaming for him to do that all season... but no! he only hears it when it's from a basketball god! ;-)

please listen stevie.

 

A royal "we"? Aw, come on BJ. In the same conversation where he's falling over himself to be humble by saying "Sir."

<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by Batman Jones
I thought you (being one of the primary doubters in this case) might come back with some other kind of reaction, having been so sure the convo never happened.<hr></blockquote>
Despite my disagreeing with your royal we excuse, I can respond to this without sounding argumentative, right? I hope.

What other kind of reaction? I was asking for something like the B post to confirm how close Fran was to that conversation and more than once said "it's probably just me wishing this isn't true."

Hell, after Fran gave Cato a knife in the back for talking honestly in the 2001 camp, I stopped trusting Fran using quotes ethically on the level of Feigen and Clutch. I never really believed the convo didn't happen, rather just a perverse weird (and lazy) spin to make Francis sound like a clueless kid. To me, it wasn't about Oscar talking to Steve, it was about the absolute accuracy of Steve's quotes.

But remember one thing BJ, I never once in this thread said I like those quotes. I don't know what you were expecting me to say. My take remains consistent: I did *not* like Steve Francis confirming his faulty logic that he has reasons for going away from players (not just Yao), and seeing it in writing this late in the game means he has the capacity to not use past advice from elders and, presumably, coaches. As far as the value of yet another HOFer calling him on that ... well, you said it best,

"<i>Steve's just not gonna back down all the way.</i>"

 

I'm with you on this one Partner...I'm from Nigeria and even I know that O was 6ft5in. I am surprised that Stevie didnt know how bad (relatively) the salaries were compared to today

 

Along the same lines...on Bill Walton's ESPN show there was an interview with Francis and Mobley where Walton asks Francis straight up, "Pass or shoot." Francis replys "shoot" without hesitation. And then as if knowing what Walton is thinking says admittedly, "And I'm the point guard!" Does any other team in the league have a PG with this mentality? Great if you're the 2 , but when both your guards are looking out for their own opportunities first and foremost, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. Stevie does a lot of talking about how great they are going to be and how the team is changing, but so far it has been all talk, as I've yet to see any substantive change in his game. Let's hope for better and smarter things in the second half.

 

Honestly, I was very surprised to see some people doubting this conversation altogether. It did almost sound too good to be true, but Fran is a long-time writer of one of the biggest papers in the country. Yes, he makes comments sometimes that make your teeth grind, but he is a professional and definitely would have never made that up.

Now, if Stevie actually listens, this is big. We can thank Fran Blinebury if the Rockets' play goes up a notch.

You rock, Blinebury.

 

Even after B's disclosure, I still feel that the conversation, especially Francis' naivete, as portrayed in the article, sound a bit too artificial to me. So let me do some pigeonholing here. Either one of the following is true:

1. The conversation is heavily edited by Blinebury to make Francis sound so naive. (But that would border to fabrication on Fran's part.)

2. Francis is really THAT naive. (But why would Francis do that in front of his public basher?)

3. Francis is acting naive to please the fans that he really is willing to learn. (But is Francis smart enough even to consider doing this?)

4. Francis is acting naive by Blinebury's coaching/prompting. (But why would Francis cooperate with his public basher?)

Of the above possibilities, #3 seems to be the most likely to me. I think Francis knows what his critics are saying. And he knows what the standard answers are. (Anyone could've told Francis the same things. The Big O just gave it more credibility.) He already "gets it" in his head. He just doesn't "bring it" on the floor, at least not consistantly.

I sound pretty pessimistic about Francis. Maybe I do.

 

Thank you for posting the article. It's terrific.

Dave

 

Francis is improving, yet has a long way to go. He is very good in the first quarter then beging to tail off from team basketball and by the end things just reverted back. If you don't believe me just replay last nights game.

 

Did anyone catch the post-game interview on TV last night? Bill and Calvin were asking Steve about the Oscar/Steve conversation. I wasn't able to catch the whole thing, but I thought I remember Francis saying Fran got part of the conversation right or something like that, and that it was a really honor to talk to Big O.

B

 

yeah, Francis said he got "some" of it right, and laughed.

 

So maybe I did have a right to ask Fran about the accuracy of the quotes. I'm wondering if I should send a follow mail to him after hearing what Francis said. Anyway, I'm glad Fran put the effort forth, since this could really help the team out. I was happy with his Mo Malone piece the day after. Someone should call Rudy's call in show tonight and ask him about Malone tutoring Yao and/or brining in an assistant coach with playing experience (hopefully a former point guard).

B

 

well, Rudy we just say that Jim Boylen has NCAA experience as a guard at UMaine getting 2nd in all-conference honors to Reggie Lewis...not to mention he was a Michigan St assistant for 6 yrs, not to mention that Lucas teaches Francis in the summer and Calvin has access to him.

 

Man, I noticed that too. It surprised me. I don't think Stevie likes Fran that much.

 

I think Blinebury is actually improving, and I have been reading the Chronicle about the Rockets since 1995. I still think Dale Robertson (Mr. Mullet) has to be the worst of them.

 

we need more posts like this