Steve Francis Web Page- Biography

Steve De'Shawn Francis was born on February 21st, 1977 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Steve's family consisted of his mother, Brenda, grandmother, Mabel, two older brothers, Jeff Jr. and Terry, and younger sister, Katherine. He grew up in Tacoma Park, an area in Maryland famous for its basketball.

During his high school career, Steve attended three different schools. His favorite subjects were Math and Science. He only played high school basketball in his sophomore year. During that year, Steve only started in one game. It's amazing to see how far Steve has progressed since high school. After all, his first dunk wasn't until his senior year in high school, and now he is one of the premiere dunkers in the NBA. When his mother tragically died of a heart attack due to cancer, Steve's grandmother took the duty of raising him. After his mother's death, Steve, depressed, dropped out of high school. Later on, he tried to go back to school at a private academy in Connecticut, but his tuition fell through.

After a phenomenal performance at an AAU tournament, Steve was accepted into San Jacinto Junior College in Texas. As a freshman at San Jacinto, Steve was named to First Team All-Region IV, by averaging 12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 7.5 apg. He also led San Jacinto to an undefeated season and a NJC championship. He transfered to Allegany Junior College in Maryland for his sophomore year in college. Again, he led his team to an undefeated season and a NJC championship.

Steve is best friends with Cuttino Mobley, who is the Rockets' starting shooting guard. They have great chemistry together on and off the court. With them together in the backcourt, big things can happen for the Rockets, especially after they added Eddie Griffin, a young rookie with tremendous upside. Steve possesses amazing work ethic, and that, along with his big-time talent, will carry him to greatness.

After his sensational sophomore season at Allegany, Steve fulfilled a dream held by every kid at Tacoma Park, by deciding to transfer to the University of Maryland.
He immediately became the starting point guard for head coach Gary Williams' Terrapins. Steve's junior year at Maryland was absolutely fabulous. He was named Second Team All-America by the Associated Press and First Team All-America by Sports Illustrated, averaging 17 ppg and 2.8 spg. He was also named First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference, leading the conference in steals. He led the Terrapins to a school-record 28 wins and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. After his junior year at Maryland, Steve decided to turn pro and enter the NBA draft.

As a kid, Steve was nicknamed "Wink" by his friends, because of two reasons: his favorite drink was a fruit drink called Wink and he was as quick as a wink of the eye. Steve's childhood hero was Randall Cunningham, but his favorite athlete overall was boxing legend, Muhammad Ali. His favorite NBA team was the Chicago Bulls, because he admired Michael Jordan. His favorite TV shows were The Jeffersons, The Jetsons, and Batman, and his favorite book was Why is Oil Black. Steve wanted to be the President of the United States when he was growing up; he didn't think of playing basketball as a proffesion until he was in middle school. Steve had two rottweilers,

Steve was selected second overall in the 1999 NBA Draft by the then Vancouver Grizzlies. Before his rookie season, on August 27th, 1999, Steve was traded to the Houston Rockets. Steve became the starting point guard in a lineup featuring Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley. Both players were injured early in the season, and the team was left for Steve to run. Steve responded by winning co-Rookie of the Year honors with Elton Brand, averaging 18 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 6.6 apg. He became only the seventh rookie in NBA history to average at least 15 ppg, 5 rpg, and 5 apg.
Steve participated in both the Rookie Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest during the 2000 All-Star Weekend. He finished second in the Slam Dunk