SPOKANE, WA – There is an old adage “Just like riding a bike” that means something is second nature and one can pick up where they left off no matter how long they’d been away.

That isn’t exactly true for playing basketball, though, especially the demanding job of running the point for Roy Williams, particularly when you’d never done that before. But 41 minutes into Jeremiah Francis’ North Carolina career, he’s bucking that notion. Sort of.

The truth is, with UNC’s struggles and a thirst for anything positive through the team’s 6-5 start, Francis has come along and satisfied some of that need.

What makes his story so alluring is its path, as stunted as it was for nearly three years. Nobody outside of Francis, his family and perhaps Williams really understand what he went through missing the last two seasons of his high school career because of a pair of knee injuries.

His insertion into UNC’s lineup in a Dec. 8 loss at Virginia was a triumph by itself.

“I like the fact that he’s out there,” Williams said, following UNC’s 94-81 loss Wednesday night at McCarthey Athletic Center. “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 games in and with opportunity staring him in the face, Francis could be in line to take over the job sooner rather than later.

He played three minutes versus the Cavaliers, 16 in Sunday’s loss to Wofford and 22 against the second-ranked Zags. Think about it, he’s quickly ingratiating himself among Carolina’s deep legion of fans and Francis hasn’t even played a game in the Dean Dome yet.

At defending national champion UVA, Wofford in old Carmichael Arena, and at Gonzaga. And he’s played well. Just ask the Tar Heels’ leader, junior forward Garrison Brooks.

“(He) played with pace and played with confidence, that’s the biggest thing,” Brooks said following Wednesday’s defeat. “Guys like him need reps. He played really hard, I’m proud of him.”

Francis had a significant impact on the game, despite the outcome. He played 22 minutes scoring 11 points and handing out three assists. Perhaps more important, Carolina’s offense ran smoother, was more fluid and the Tar Heels got a healthier dose of quality shots when Francis was running the show than not.

One might expect nerves to overwhelm the 19-year-old, especially given the last 25 months of his basketball life, but nope. Not Francis.

His method is to keep things simple while doing what his Hall of Fame coach says.

“I’m still a freshman and still learning,” he said, seated in a chair in a hallway in the bowels of Gonzaga’s home building. “I have a job for myself to knock down open shots, defend and take care of the ball. Those are my three jobs and that’s what coach wants me to do.”

Francis was 4-for-9, including making one of two from 3-point range, versus the Zags. He shot just three times in his first two games, but as the Ohio native gets more comfortable with literally everything, his game moves forward.

That’s where the whole riding bike stuff comes into play.

The word on Francis last summer and into the fall was that he might not play this season. Some rumors floated pretty hard that he wouldn’t ever play the sport again because his knees were just shot. But he had no timetable and he kept working, maintained his faith and trusted strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian and there he was, cleared to play versus the Wahoos after just two full practices as a Tar Heel.

So, Francis first entered a game in Carolina blue with 7:42 left in the contest in Charlottesville and UNC trailing by 12 points. Williams was ticked off at his team and decided to give Francis and fellow freshman guard Anthony Harris, who was also returning after missing 13 months with a knee injury, a chance to play.

On the first possession, with Francis at the point and ballyhooed star Cole Anthony off the ball for the first time this season, the Heels got a wide open three for Anthony. He missed, but Francis helped get the Heels a good look.

He had a nice first half versus Wofford last Sunday before the entire team imploded, and then Wednesday he was perhaps Carolina’s second best player on the night.

From missing two-plus years to getting into a groove by his third game, Francis appears to have hopped up on the bike and is peddling like he’s in the Tour de France. But that’s not exactly the case.

“I still need some stuff to touch up on,” he said. “Every day I’m just trying to get better in practice, just going hard in practice. 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.”

Francis acknowledges he must get in better condition and is just in the infancy stage of his UNC career. And now, with Anthony out until mid-to-late January, the 6-foot, 210 pounder has a ton of responsibility on his shoulders.

But he doesn’t see it as pressure, he sees it as a blessing.

“I took a long break, but I prepared my whole life to play college basketball,” Francis said. “This is what I dreamed of doing and Coach kept recruiting me even though through these injuries. I’m just doing my job, that’s what he tells me every day.”

And before long, it will be like riding a bike.