Blake Francis (born January 3, 1998) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who last played for the

Montreal Alliance The Montreal Alliance () are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada founded in 2021. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Verdun Auditorium. The Montreal A ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

(CEBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Wagner Seahawks The Wagner Seahawks are composed of 23 teams representing Wagner College in intercollegiate athletics. Sports sponsored for both men and women are basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field (both indoor and outdoor, which ...

and the Richmond Spiders.

High school career

After spending his freshman year at Bishop O'Connell High School in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, Francis transferred to Westfield High School in

Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the name of an ...

. As a senior, he averaged 20.1 points per game and led Westfield to the Virginia 6A state championship, scoring 23 points against Oscar F. Smith High School in the title game. He was a Second Team All-State selection. Francis left as Westfield's all-time leading scorer, with 1,390 career points. He planned to attend prep school because he had no

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

scholarship offers. He accepted an offer from

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

when a scholarship suddenly became available on the team because two-sport athlete Greg Senat had switched his scholarship from basketball to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

College career

As a freshman at Wagner, Francis averaged 7.2 points per game in a reserve role. Due to the departures of important players after the season, he was given more opportunities as a sophomore. On February 8, 2018, Francis scored a career-high 29 points in a 96–76 win over Bryant. In his sophomore season, he averaged 17.3 points per game and made a program-record 102 three-pointers. Francis was named to the Second Team All-

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

. He transferred to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and sat out his next year per

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules. He was drawn to Richmond because his friend Cedrick Lindsay had played there and some of his former

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

teammates were on the roster. During his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

year, he recovered from foot surgery. On December 3, 2019, Francis matched his career-high of 29 points, shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range, in an 80–63 victory over Hampton. On January 11, 2020, he suffered a

sternal fracture A sternal fracture is a bone fracture, fracture of the Human sternum, sternum (the breastbone), located in the center of the chest. The injury, which occurs in 5–8% of people who experience significant blunt chest trauma, may occur in vehicle a ...

when diving for a loose ball during a 75–58 loss against Saint Louis and was expected to miss four to six weeks. He returned to action against Fordham on February 8 and finished with 18 points. As a junior, Francis led the team in scoring with 17.7 points per game while also averaging 2.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He earned Second Team All- Atlantic 10 honors. He led Richmond to a program-record 14 conference wins. Francis declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

before withdrawing his name and opting to return to Richmond. After the 2020–21 season, Francis declined to take an additional year of eligibility granted to all players, instead opting for the 2021 NBA draft.

Professional career

Westchester Knicks (2021–2022)

Francis was drafted second round (15th pick overall) by the Raptors 905 in the 2021 NBA G League Draft. However, he did not make the team's final roster. On December 30, 2021, Francis was acquired by the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks play their home games at Westchester County Center in White Plains, N ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. Francis was then later waived on January 26, 2022. On February 8, 2022, Francis was acquired by the Raptors 905, but was waived on February 10.

Capital City Go-Go (2022)

On March 9, Francis was acquired and activated by the Capital City Go-Go off of waivers. He was later waived on November 14, 2022, and then re-acquired on December 3, and then waived again on December 9, 2022.

Cleveland Charge (2023)

On February 11, 2023, Francis was acquired by the Cleveland Charge.

Montreal Alliance (2023)

On May 4, 2023, Francis signed with the

of the

. However, he was waived on July 2 after playing 7 games for the club.

Medipolis SC Jena (2023-2024)

On July 27, 2023, Francis signed with Medipolis SC Jena of the second-tier German

ProA The ProA is the German basketball league system, second-tier Sports league, league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 16 teams. Officially the ProA is part of the ''2. Basketball Bundesliga'', which consists of the t ...

for a contract duration of 1 year.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 3 , , 20.5 , , .424 , , .422 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .0 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 22 , , 32.7 , , .430 , , .402 , , .806 , , 1.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 25 , , 32.7 , , .417 , , .363 , , .805 , , 2.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 20 , , 33.4 , , .424 , , .360 , , .750 , , 2.3 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 16.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 105 , , 70 , , 29.6 , , .424 , , .386 , , .787 , , 1.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 14.5

Personal life

Francis' older brother, Branden, played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

. He is a cousin of former NFL player Marques Hagans and basketball player

Tyler Thornton Tyler Damascus Thornton (born April 5, 1992) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team. He was one of the top-rated high school point guards in the cla ...

References

External links

Richmond Spiders bioWagner Seahawks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Blake 1998 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Capital City Go-Go players Cleveland Charge players Montreal Alliance players Newfoundland Growlers (basketball) players People from Herndon, Virginia Basketball players from Fairfax County, Virginia Point guards Richmond Spiders men's basketball players Wagner Seahawks men's basketball players Westchester Knicks players 21st-century American sportsmen