Texas Tech basketball: Brandone Francis’ 5 best games as a Red Raider
Brandone Francis had to grow up both on and off the court before becoming a key contributor for the Texas Tech basketball program. Here are the five best games of a player who matured both as a person and as a player.
For Brandone Francis, the biggest improvement he made while part of the Texas Tech basketball program came away from the court. And once he learned how to meet Chris Beard’s expectations in all aspects of his life, not just basketball, he became a huge part of the Red Raiders’ success over the past two years.
A 4-star prospect out of Jacksonville, FL by way of the Dominican Republic, he was rated the No. 31 player in the nation in 2014 by 247Sports.com. Originally signing with Florida, Francis also held offers from Boston College, UCONN, Florida State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Louisville, Miami, and a host of others.
But when Billy Donovan left Gainesville to coach in the NBA following the 2015-16 season, Francis decided to transfer to Texas Tech. However, his career as a Red Raider almost never came to fruition.
Having to sit out a season per NCAA transfer rules, the once highly-touted hoops star found life away from the court difficult. Without the drive of competitive basketball to motivate him, Francis struggled with his maturity and found it difficult to adjust to life under Beard.
As a result, Francis became the only player on the Texas Tech basketball team required to live in on-campus housing. Far away from home and going years without seeing family or friends from The Dominican Republic, Francis was tasked with maturing into an adult under a set of circumstances that would have challenged any college student.
"“I came in a little bit mad about my Florida story, my coach leaving and stuff like that,” Francis told Carlos Sliva of the “Avalanche-Journal” in 2018. “I didn’t approach things right. I didn’t realize what kind of great people I had around me, especially starting with coach Beard. My mind wasn’t in the right place and I made a couple of mistake on and off the court, nothing crazy. “So he moved me into the dorm, and it’s probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. All of my teammates were living in nice apartments and I was the only one living in a dorm. Through those times, I became a man.”"
Fortunately, he was able to persevere off the court and become a key cog in the two best teams in Red Raider basketball history. As a junior, he averaged 5.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game and as a senior, he scored 6.5 points and pulled down 2.4 boards as the first man off the bench for the national runners-up.
And along the way, Francis became somewhat of a fan favorite. His million-dollar smile and emotional style of play helped endear him to a generation of fans that fell in love with Red Raider basketball like never before.
Though his time in Lubbock consisted of only 75 games, Brandone Francis gave us some memorable moments. Here are the five best performances in his Texas Tech basketball career.