Brandone Edward Francis Ramírez (born September 10, 1994) is a Dominican professional basketball player who last played for the Phoenix Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Florida Gators.
 Francis with Florida in 2015 | |
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 10, 1994 La Romana, Dominican Republic |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Florida) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019 | Metros de Santiago |
| 2019-2020 | Iowa Wolves |
| 2020–2021 | Gipuzkoa |
| 2021 | Cafeteros de Armenia |
| 2021 | Metros de Santiago |
| 2021 | Bancola |
| 2022 | Búcaros de Bucaramanga |
| 2022 | Metros de Santiago |
| 2022 | Taurinos de Aragua |
| 2022 | Mauricio Báez |
| 2022 | Bancola |
| 2023 | Prawira Bandung |
| 2023 | Pueblo Nuevo |
| 2024 | La Tribu de Quisqueya |
| 2024 | Prawira Bandung |
| 2024 | Metros de Santiago |
| 2024 | Phoenix Fuel Masters |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
College career
editFrancis redshirted his freshman season at Florida for academic reasons.[1] As a redshirt freshman, he averaged two points in 10.8 minutes per game.[2] Francis transferred to Texas Tech, sitting out his following season due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer rules.[3] As a junior, Francis averaged 5.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.[4] At the 2019 NCAA Division I Championship Game, his final college appearance, he scored a team-high 17 points in an 85–77 overtime loss to first-seeded Virginia. As a senior, Francis averaged 6.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.[5]
Professional career
editOn August 15, 2019, Francis was selected by Metros de Santiago with the first overall pick in the Dominican Liga Nacional de Baloncesto draft.[6] One week later, he signed his first professional contract with the team.[7] Francis led Metros to the league championship game.[8] In 21 appearances, he averaged 11.3 points per game.[9] On November 20, 2019, Francis signed with the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League.[10] In 20 games, he averaged 2.8 points in 8.4 minutes per game.[11] Francis tested positive for and recovered from COVID-19 in June 2020.[12] On August 9, he signed with Gipuzkoa of the Spanish Liga ACB.[13]
In 2022, Francis signed for Prawira Harum Bandung of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). In regular season, he averaged 23.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in 25.3 minutes per game, earning him IBL Foreign Player of The Year as well as leading Prawira Harum Bandung to their first ever championship since 1998. He recorded his IBL career high in a 78–61 win against RANS PIK Basketball scoring 41 points on 12-26 shooting and 15-21 from free throw line.
On February 14, 2024. Prawira Harum Bandung announced that Brandone will return for the rest of 2023-2024 season after a disappointing performance from the team through 5 games of the season in which they went 2–3.[14] In his return debut, he scored 16 points and 5 rebounds on 5-10 shooting in 82–78 win against Borneo Hornbills
On September 2, 2024, Francis signed the Phoenix Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to replace Jayveous McKinnis as the team's import for the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup.[15]
Personal life
editFrancis' father, Bobby, played college basketball for Boston College in the 1980s. Bobby later worked as a brand strategist in the entertainment industry, developing a close relationship with rapper Nipsey Hussle.[16] Francis' mother, Kenia Ramírez, lives in the Dominican Republic. He met her for the first time in two years during senior night at Texas Tech in 2019.[17]
References
edit- ^ Norlander, Matt (October 15, 2014). "Florida suspends Chris Walker 3 games; Brandone Francis out for year". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez decides to transfer from Florida". ESPN. Associated Press. May 4, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Falcone, Sam (June 15, 2016). "Brandone Francis-Ramirez To Transfer To Texas Tech". Stadium. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Adamakos, Tess (April 9, 2019). "TEXAS TECH'S BRANDONE FRANCIS REVEALS THE SPECIAL MEANING BEHIND HIS EMOGI INK". Inked Magazine. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- ^ Guinan, Eleanor (April 10, 2019). "Bench proves valuable asset in teams success". The Daily Toreador. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Metros seleccionan Brandone Francis como primer pick". Hoy Digital (in Spanish). August 15, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Félix Santana, Rafael (August 22, 2019). "Brandone Francis se integra a Metros de Santiago". Pio Deportes (in Spanish). Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Hunt, Steve (February 23, 2020). "Waiting for his time: Former Tech guard Francis enjoying competition in G League". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Brandone Francis". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Nutting, Seth (November 20, 2019). "Wolves Acquire Brandone Francis and Jaylen Johnson". NBA G League. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Brandone Francis G-League Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Silva Jr., Carlos (June 20, 2020). "Former Texas Tech guard Francis recovered from COVID-19". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Brandone Francis is a newcomer at Gipuzkoa". Latinbasket.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Prawira Panggil Brandone Francis Lagi - IBL". iblindonesia.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (September 2, 2024). "Phoenix taps Brandone Francis as replacement import for Govs Cup". Spin.ph. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ Eisenberg, Jeff (April 5, 2019). "Inside the special bond between late rapper Nipsey Hussle and Texas Tech's Brandone Francis". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Janower, Jacob (March 5, 2019). "Texas Tech's Brandone Francis reunites with his mother on senior night". Sporting News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.