Greg Francis was an insightful, reasoned voice in Canadian basketball

Like many in Canadian basketball circles, I am deeply saddened at the news of the passing of Greg Francis on Sunday, one of the most influential and respected figures in Canadian basketball over the course of his playing and coaching career.

Many might remember his sensational performance in the first-round of the NCAA tournament when he drilled eight three-pointers against Vince Carter and North Carolina and very nearly led 16th seed Fairfield University to the first upset of a No.1 back in 1997.

Legendary Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith joked afterwards that he wanted to shake Francis’ hand but was worried because it was too hot.

But that was just the start of Francis' role at the centre of perhaps the most significant era for basketball ever known in Canada. He was already a Toronto basketball legend, having led Oakwood Collegiate to three consecutive provincial championship medals in the early 1990s at a time when the high school scene in Ontario was incredibly competitive, as Grade 13 was still in place and the trend of the top players heading to the U.S. for high school hadn’t taken hold.

He played in the summers for a powerhouse Kingston-Galloway Lancers program in Scarborough that would dominate at AAU tournaments across the U.S. in the summer. So much of the talent that eventually spilled over the border from the Toronto area was still competing for bragging rights locally during the high school season, and Francis' Oakwood teams were perennially among the very best, culminating in an Ontario title in 1993, his senior year.

His teammates were in the midst of organizing a reunion to celebrate the achievement when messages began being exchanged about something they couldn’t begin to contemplate.

"It’s one of those things, you can’t believe this person is gone," O'Neil Kamaka, who played two seasons with Francis before playing Division 1 basketball himself told me. "Fluid shot, quick release, incredible shooting fundamentals. I remember once he raised his eyebrows and I went for it, but his shot was so quick and smooth he would get you."

"He was so natural playing basketball. He was so smart, calm and would pick you apart. And at Oakwood they called him ‘wonder boy’ because he was playing senior in Grade 10, back then you didn’t play senior until Grade 12, he was just special.

“But as a person he was always smiling, always laughing,” Kamaka said. “It was always positive with Greg. That’s why it’s sad for me.”

Francis then went on to play on the Canadian national team for several seasons. Most notably at the 1998 FIBA World Cup and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics alongside the likes of Steve Nash, Todd McCulloch, Rowan Barrett, Sherman Hamilton, Michael Meeks and others on the Jay Triano-coached team that shocked the world with a 5-2 record before losing in the quarterfinals to France.

He was known as the calm one, an intense and proud competitor who was always able to maintain perspective no matter how heated the situation was.

As with several of his teammates, Francis eventually did his most significant work helping grow the infrastructure for the sport to meet the demand of an ever-expanding population of elite young talent.

After a brief professional career, Francis transitioned into coaching and then became the rare administrator with elite playing and coaching experience. He was the junior national team head coach from 2006-2011 and later an assistant on the national team through 2014.

As junior national team head coach, he also headed Canada Basketball’s National Elite Development Academy (NEDA), a short-lived program where some of the country’s best high-school-aged players centralized to train year-round in Hamilton. Canadian national team and Utah Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk attended NEDA in his Grade 11 year and later played for Francis on the junior national team at the under-19 FIBA World Cup in 2009 on a team that included Cory Joseph of the Detroit Pistons and Tristan Thompson, who combined have 23 NBA seasons and two championships to their names. 

“He was a great coach for me at that age and for a lot of people at that age just because of how recently he had come from playing and how he could relate to everything we were doing and all of that, but just his energy and his enthusiasm and his passion for the game and wanting to get people to advance in the game and get better and take their career to new heights,” Olynyk said to me Monday. “He was awesome in that whole aspect and it was a blessing to have played for him and get to know him on a personal level and a lot of my development at that age was because of him and what he deemed important and thought was the way the game was moving.

“[With Greg] you always felt welcome, felt included. He did a fantastic job – especially at that age – of continuing to make basketball fun and enjoyable and continue to grow that passion for the game that I had and love the game the way it’s meant to be played. He radiated that. It just came naturally to him. It was a natural skill.”

Francis later became a head coach with several U Sports schools, most successfully at the University of Alberta, where he led the Golden Bears to a silver medal at the national championships in 2012.

In 2015, Francis was appointed as the Manager of Men’s High Performance at Canada Basketball where he helped shape a number of programs designed to further elite athlete development and talent identification. While part of the program Canada won gold at the 2017 men’s basketball under-19 World Cup, Canada’s best-ever result at a FIBA tournament.

He helped support the launch of the Canadian Elite Basketball League and in November Francis was appointed as the Director of Sport Development for the Ontario Basketball Association. He provided leadership, strategic direction and support for all high-performance programs, youth development, and coach education training throughout Ontario.

“Greg was a tremendous teammate and fierce competitor who always had a positive outlook and brought fun and levity to any group he was a part of,” said men’s national team general manager Rowan Barrett, who played at the Olympics with Francis. “Greg’s understanding of the game of basketball together with his exceptional interpersonal skills made him a tremendous basketball coach and administrator. He will be missed as a fun-loving man of character who was a great, friend, devoted family man and dedicated his life to serving others.”

On a personal note, I got to know Greg shortly after he finished college and was embarking on his national team career, and especially during his days as the junior national team head coach. I was reporting on basketball for the Globe and Mail and the game was undergoing massive change, with grassroots talent exploding and a local infrastructure not properly equipped to meet the demand.

The trickle of kids from Canada heading to the U.S. for high school was quickly turning into a flood and the emergence of AAU basketball as the dominant path for elite players to try to reach their basketball goals was well underway. As with anything relatively new, there were a lot of unknowns and confusion about the entire process and what was the best way to serve young athletes.

The reality was there was no one perfect way, and Greg was always an insightful, reasoned voice on any topic who could easily see issues from all sides, without judgement. Everyone respected Greg. I learned a tremendous amount from him and always valued his warmth and wisdom.

“He had tremendous role building the foundation of what we are seeing in Canadian basketball today,” said Barrett. “He had these young guys in the gym and was a steadying and trusting presence and was a tremendous leader of young men. He had walked the path as a player and always wanted to best for players he coached and gained their trust and the trust of their families.”

He helped so many people. The shortlist of elite players he touched is long: Joseph, Olynyk, Thompson, Khem Birch and Kevin Pangos are just a few of the best-known players he mentored on their way up, but the roster of people he helped, inspired and had a kind word for is endless. Social media is filling up with tributes, thanks and memories.

As much as I enjoyed any opportunity to speak with Greg and will miss those moments in the future, I can only imagine what the news of his passing means for his teammates and coaches going back to his days at Oakwood Collegiate, Fairfield and the national team, and also all the players he coached and mentored.

My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and to all those who were lucky enough to call him a teammate, friend or coach.

Greg died at home peacefully on Sunday afternoon, just days before his 49th birthday.