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Jerome Francis Jr., a highly regarded recruiter and
technician, joined the Nebraska staff as an
assistant coach in 2005. Francis, who is reunited
with Coach Barry Collier for the second time in his
coaching career, will work with the Husker post
players in his first season in Lincoln while also
assisting with recruiting.
Francis has a great group of young players to work
with in 2005-06 headed by 6-11, 265-pound sophomore
center Aleks Maric. A native of Australia, Maric set
the Nebraska freshman rebound record last year and
went on to rank second in rebounding at the U21
World Championships while playing for his native
Australia.
Francis brought an extensive coaching background to
the Huskers and provides valuable knowledge and
leadership after serving as a Division I head coach
the past three seasons. Francis began his first head
coaching job in 2002 when he took over the program
at Prairie View A&M University.
"Obviously we are excited to have Jerome Francis
join our staff as he has a tremendous amount of
experience as an assistant coach and he brings
another great quality with experience as a Division
I head coach," Collier said at the time of Francis'
hiring. "I'm looking forward to having him on my
staff again as we were together at Butler in the
early 1990s. He is aggressive and his personality
and physical style of coaching will be a great fit
at Nebraska and in the Big 12."
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Francis was named the
Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Coach of the
Year for the 2002-03 season after guiding the
Panthers to a 17-12 record, including a
regular-season league title with a 14-4 mark. It was
PVAMU's first conference title since 1962, which
helped Francis to be named National Rookie Coach of
the Year by collegeinsider.com.
Francis helped five players earn all-league honors
that season, including first-team selection and SWAC
Player of the Year honoree Gregory Burks. Malachi
Thurston was also a second-team selection and the
league's newcomer of the year. Overall, Francis led
Prairie View A&M to a 29-55 record in three seasons
with players earning eight all-league honors.
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to work
with Coach Collier again, especially at an
outstanding university like Nebraska," Francis said.
"There is a great administration in place with
Athletic Director Steve Pederson and I look forward
to meeting the people of Lincoln and helping build a
quality team for them to come see at the Devaney
Center. Our number one goal is to graduate
student-athletes, but winning championships will be
the icing on the cake."
Before taking over the head job at Prairie View A&M,
Francis was an assistant coach for 10 years after
graduating from The Ohio State University in 1991
with a degree in education.
Francis' first coaching position came in 1992 when
he was an assistant at Bowling Green State
University. Francis went on to spend one season on
Collier's staff at Butler (1993-94), helping the
Bulldogs to a 16-13 mark and a second-place finish
in the Midwest Collegiate Conference standings.
Francis then returned to his alma mater where he was
an assistant coach for three seasons (1994-95 to
1996-97) before ending up at Ball State for three
years (1997-98 to 1999-2000). Francis then spent two
seasons (2000-01 and 2001-02) at the University of
Houston before taking over the Panther's head
coaching position.
Francis was a four-year starter and team co-captain
for the Buckeyes in 1989. He ranks among the
Buckeye's all-time leaders in games played (133),
games started (126) and points (1,486), as well as
assists and steals.
Francis helped OSU to at least 19 wins and a
postseason berth each of his four seasons, including
a 19-14 mark as a freshman in 1986 when the Buckeyes
won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title.
Ohio State came back to reach the NCAA Tournament in
1987, where it fell in the second round to
Georgetown, before making consecutive NIT
appearances in his final two seasons.
Francis has two daughters, Je'rel and Jaren, and a
son, Jeremiah. |
