2019-20 Men's Basketball Roster
Blake Francis
- Position:
- Guard
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 175
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Herndon, Va.
- High School:
- Westfield
GRADUATE STUDENT (2020-21)
• Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and selected Second Team All-District in NABC District 4 (A-10) for the second straight year
• Led team with 16.1 points per game, ninth in the Atlantic 10
• Made a team-high 49 three-pointers ... Ranked sixth in the A-10 with 2.45 three-pointers per game
• Ranked second on team and 12th in A-10 with 1.4 steals per game
• Started 20 games, missing the final three games of the season after injuring his hip and back in a fall vs Saint Joseph's on March 1
• Scored 27 points in Richmnond's win vs Loyola Chicago, the most by a Spider in a game during the season
• Finished the season with the seventh-highest scoring average in program history, at 16.98 points per game
GAME-BY-GAME
3/10 - Named a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selection for the second straight season ... 3/4 vs Duquesne - Did not play due to a hip/back injury suffered vs Saint Joseph’s ... His first missed game this season ... 3/1 vs Saint Joseph’s - Limited to 9 minutes and 0 points after suffering a back contusion on a fall in the first half ... Did not play in second half ... 2/26 at Saint Louis - Scored game-high 24 points, tied a career high with 6 three-pointers ... 2/23 vs UMass - Scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the 1st half ... made a season-high 5 three-pointers ... 2/17 at VCU - Scored all 12 of his points after halftime ... 2/14 vs St. Mary’s (MD) - Scored a game-high 17 points in 18 minutes ... 1/26 at Saint Joseph’s - Scored 18 points and made his first 6 shots from the field ... 1/23 vs La Salle - Limited to season-low 28 minutes due to foul trouble while scoring 21 points (2nd most on team) ... 1/2 vs St. Bonaventure - Scored a game-high 21 points, his third 20-point effort in his last five games ... 12/30 at Davidson - Sealed win with deep three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining as shot clock expired ... 12/18 vs Loyola Chicago - Scored a game-high 27 points, 2 shy of his career high ... Made 4-5 from 3-point range ... 12/16 at Vandberbilt - Scored a team-high 21 points, his 20th career 20-point game ... Scored 14 in 1st half as UR raced to 45-21 halftime lead ... 11/29 vs Kentucky - 18 Pts were tied for most among Spiders ... Three-pointer with 57 seconds left gave UR its largest lead at 16
REDSHIRT JUNIOR (2019-20) HIGHLIGHTS
• Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and selected Second Team All-District in NABC District 4 (A-10)
• Averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game, fourth in the Atlantic 10 and most by a Spider since T.J. Cline in 2016-17
• Started all 25 games he appeared in, missing six games after fracturing his sternum vs Saint Louis on January 11
• Led Spiders in scoring 10 times, most of any player, and led Richmond with eight 20-point games
• Shot team-high 80.5 percent on free throws, seventh in the A-10
• Made 2.64 three-pointers per game, third in the A-10
• 66 three-pointers were most by Spider in his first year with Richmond since Kendall Anthony in 2011-12 (68)
GAME-BY-GAME
3/10 - Named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 ... 3/6 at Duquesne - Scored a game-high 21 points ... 3/3 vs Davidson - Scored 14 of his 18 points in 2nd half when Richmond outscored Wildcats 50-29 ... 2/29 vs UMass - Scored a game-high 20 points ... 2/26 at George Washington - Scored a game-high 19 points ... 2/22 at St. Bonaventure - Pulled Richmond within 2 points after trailing by as many as 16 with a pair of three-pointers in final 32 seconds ... Scored a game-high 23 points ... 2/8 at Fordham - Returned after missing 4 weeks with a fractured sternum ... Scored 18 points, including a team-high 12 in the 1st half ...1/16 - Richmond announced that Francis is expected to miss 4-6 weeks while recovering from his fractured sternum ... 1/14 at Davidson - Missed first game as a Spider due to a fractured sternum ... 1/11 vs Saint Louis - Fractured his sternum when he was crashed into during a loose-ball scrum at the foul line with 2:00 remaining in the game and did not return ... 1/5 at Rhode Island - Scored 10 of his 13 points in the 1st half, including 7 during an 18-4 Spiders run at end of half with Gilyard on bench with foul trouble ... Helped (with Andre Gustavson) hold A-10 leading scorer Fatts Russell to 3 points on 1-12 shooting ...
1/2 vs Saint Joseph’s - Scored his 1,000th collegiate career point on a free throw with 14:04 remaining in the 2nd half ... Finished with a game-high 23 points ... Scored final 7 points of 1st half to cap 26-4 Spiders run ... Helped (with Andre Gustavson) hold A-10 leading scorer Ryan Daly to 8 points and forced him into 6 turnovers ... 12/18 at Old Dominion - Broke a 56-56 tie with a corner three-pointer off an inbounds pass with 3:10 remaining ... 12/14 vs Charleston - Scored a team-high 20 points, his fourth 20-point game at Richmond ... 12/3 at Hampton - Tied career highs in points (29), three-pointers (6), and assists (6) ... Most points scored by a Spider since Grant Golden scored 33 vs Wyoming on Nov. 21, 2018 ... 11/25 vs Wisconsin - Scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first half ... Added a career-high 6 assists... Led Richmond in scoring for second straight game ... 11/22 vs McNeese - Led the Spiders in scoring with 20 points, the first time he’s led the team in scoring ... 11/14 vs Vanderbilt - Scored 24 points, second most on the team ... Started Spiders comeback from a 4-point OT deficit with a three-pointer at the 2:49 mark of OT ... Collapsed under Spiders basket after hyper-extending his left knee with 59 seconds left in OT but returned to the game ... 11/8 vs Saint Francis - Started Spiders 10-point comeback to force OT with a three-pointer with 1:31 remaining ... assisted on game-winning field goal when he drove the baseline and found a cutting Nathan Cayo for a layup with 55 seconds remaining in OT
• Signed with the Spiders on April 10, 2018 after receiving interest from many schools, including St. Bonaventure and Loyola-Chicago, following his announcement that he would transfer from Wagner
• Sat out 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer regulations
SOPHOMORE (2017-18 • WAGNER COLLEGE)
• Averaged team-high 17.3 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the Northeast Conference
• Set school record with 102 three-point field goals ... Led conference in three-pointers made and ranked tied for 26th in Division I
• Shot team-best 40.2 percent from three-point range, the eighth-highest mark in the conference
• Made team-high 80.6 percent of his free-throw attempts, ranking fourth in the Northeast Conference
• Recorded team-high 52 steals, fifth most in the conference
• Led Wagner to 23-10 record and regular-season conference title
• Scored team-high 23 points in loss at Baylor in first round of NIT
• Scored career-high 29 points in win vs Bryant on February 8
• Second-Team All-Northeast Conference selection
FRESHMAN (2016-17 • WAGNER COLLEGE)
• Averaged 7.2 points while appearing in 28 games with three starts
• Led team in three-point field goal percentage at 42.2 percent, the second-best mark in the conference ... Ranked 19th among Division I freshmen in three-point shooting (minimum 100 three-point attempts)
• Team's leading scorer off the bench (188 points)
• Scored season-high 20 points in win vs eventual league champion Mount St. Mary's on February 16
• Made first career start in third game of season, a 73-65 win at American on November 22
HIGH SCHOOL
• Averaged 20.1 points as a senior at Westfield High School (Chantilly, Va.)
• Led team to 6A state title in 2016 ... earned Second Team All-State honors
• Named fourth-team All-Met selection by The Washington Post following his senior season
• Also earned All-State honors following his junior season
• Team compiled a 62-18 overall record (27-8 conference record) during his three seasons at Westfield
• Graduated as leading scorer in school history (1,390 points)
PERSONAL
• Son of Cissy and Carl
• Father Carl is the Director of Communications for the NFL Players Association ... he attended Virginia Union and played linebacker for four seasons
• Brother Branden played football at Liberty University from 2010-13
• Cousin Tyler Thornton played basketball at Duke University from 2010-14, appearing in 139 games for the Blue Devils
• Cousin Marques Hagans was a starting QB at the University of Virginia from 2004-05 and was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft ... Appeared in 10 NFL games over two seasons with four different teams, totaling nine receptions for 108 yards
• Played one season of AAU basketball with current teammate Grant Golden on the Fairfax Stars while in middle school
• Born on January 3, 1998
