That Jeremiah Francis won’t be on North Carolina’s roster next season isn’t an enormous surprise, it’s that he won’t be a part of the program in any capacity is, though.
He confirmed to THI on Thursday he has entered the transfer portal and is leaving UNC after one season in which he played in 16 games, missing time because of the ongoing effects of knee injuries that forced him to miss the last two seasons of his high school career.
That Francis even played is a minor miracle. The original plan was for him to sit out the season and continue healing and getting his basketball skills back to par. But Francis got into a game at Virginia, the Tar Heels’ ninth of the season, and for the next month took on a role nobody foresaw prior to the season.
As painful as it was at times, Francis gave it a go and was an important component over a nine-game stretch in which he saw action in eight of the contests, a period that included Cole Anthony sitting out recovering from his own knee surgery. Francis' run began with a home loss to Wofford and ended after a double-overtime loss at Virginia Tech. He averaged 5.7 points, 2.9 assists and was instrumental in the Tar Heels’ win over UCLA in Las Vegas over that month.
“I like the fact that he’s out there,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said, following UNC’s loss at Gonzaga on Dec. 18. “He’s trying really hard. (His) conditioning is not very good. I guess he’s up to eight practices in three years.
“You like the fact that the kid’s out there being able to play considering all of the negative things he’s been going through.”
Three days later, in a win over the Bruins, Francis secured his high scoring game as a Tar Heel, netting 12 points, which included a 9-for-10 effort at the free throw line, most of which came down the stretch the help Carolina seal the victory. In the stretch overall, he was just 12-for-56 from the field in the eight-game stretch, including only 4-for-17 from 3-point range. He was 17-for-24 from the free throw line.
His importance to the team during that period was more as a somewhat stabilizing force on the court, a point guard who got the team into its sets and ran the freelance offense. He also inspired his teammates because of his grind and desire to help in any way he could.
“Every day I’m just trying to get better in practice, just going hard in practice,” Francis said in December. “Nobody’s perfect, so just keep getting better, that’s what I tell myself every day. I’ve got a long, long four years ahead of me and I’m going to do whatever coach asks me to do to the best of my ability.”
Junior forward and team leader Garrison Brooks sure took notice.
“I’m proud of him,” Brooks said after the Gonzaga game.
The Tar Heels lost most of the games in which Francis played a key role, but the issues the team dealt with at the time went well beyond the point spot. And, given that Francis was battling through significant pain experiencing minimized mobility and explosiveness, it’s a testament he gave what he did to the team.
Ineffectiveness, in large part because of his health, limited Francis’ playing time over the last six weeks of the season. He played a total of 32 minutes seeing action in seven of UNC’s final 15 games.
Overall, Francis played in 16 games for the Tar Heels, averaging 3.3 points and 1.6 assists in 13.6 minutes per outing. Francis shot just 22.7 percent from the floor, converting 15 of 66 field goal attempts, including 4-for-20 from 3-point range, which is 20 percent.
As for the future, multiple sources close to the situation suggested during the course of the season there was a strong possibility Francis wouldn’t be on the roster as a player for the 2020-21 campaign. The knee problems had reached a point where he’d likely continue battling the same conditions next season and beyond, so the option of a medical redshirt would have been on the table. Thus, if he would have gone that route, he could stay at UNC and remain around the program.
Francis chose a different path, however.
Considering where he was about 30 months ago and the time elapsed since then, it’s somewhat remarkable he got 16 games in a Carolina uniform. Whatever happens moving forward, that was an achievement for Francis.
