Gators freshman Francis-Ramirez Finally Finds Long Lost Shot
Saturday, January 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
He was 3-for-3 from 3-point distance after missing 32 of his previous 34 attempts
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- As they sat on the bench next to one another during a timeout Saturday, Brandone Francis-Ramirez turned to teammate Chris Chiozza and let him in on a hunch he had.
It was the kind of inkling that must have seemed from Mars for Francis-Ramirez, a redshirt freshman who entered Saturday's game against West Virginia shooting 5 of 40 from 3-point distance. Before you say, well, not everyone is a 3-point shooter, Francis-Ramirez was only slightly better from inside the arc (7 of 33).
Still, he sensed something different about his outlook prior to Florida's 88-71 victory over the No. 9-ranked Mountaineers at a packed O'Connell Center.
What did Francis-Ramirez say to Chiozza?
"He told me, 'next shot I take, it's going in.' Two passes later, he shot it,'' Chiozza said. "I said, 'oh, yeah, he's going to hit a couple tonight.' I was able to find him once in the corner. I just knew it was going to go in. I just ran down to the other end of the court."
For one afternoon and one game at least, Francis-Ramirez showed that, yes, he can hit shots. Shots that matter, too. He was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points, or one more point than he had scored in his previous 11 games combined.
Francis-Ramirez's long-awaited breakout happened when he really needed it.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Francis-Ramirez arrived at UF after a season at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville playing for head coach Rex Morgan, who died on Jan. 15 after a long battle with throat cancer.
Meanwhile, Francis-Ramirez formed a connection with West Virginia coach Bob Huggins when the Mountaineers offered him a scholarship during his time playing for Morgan.
"It was emotional for me,'' Francis-Ramirez said afterward. " That game means a lot. It has really been a rough path. I can't put that on anybody. I haven't been shooting the ball well. I just have to come out here and play hard and hopefully be more consistent and be that guy off the bench for my team."
The 6-foot-5 guard did exactly that Saturday, connecting on his first 3-pointer late in the first half after West Virginia had trimmed a 16-point deficit to six points. With the Gators nursing a 36-30 lead, Francis-Ramirez's 3-pointer with 2:32 left ignited a 9-0 Florida run to close the half and stretch its lead to 15 at the break.
The shot was one of many deep daggers -- Florida finished 12 of 20 from 3-point land -- that forced Huggins to look up toward the O'Dome rafters as if searching for answers.
"The way it was going in, I wouldn't have been surprised if Mike [White] would have hit one,'' Huggins said of Florida's head coach. Huggins then turned his attention to his former player, Gators assistant Darris Nichols. "I was hoping Darris would shoot one. I know that wouldn't go in."
Jokes aside, West Virginia had no answers in stopping Florida's hot perimeter shooting, including that of Francis-Ramirez, who added two more 3s in the second half.
If others were surprised, Chiozza was not.
"He's one of the best shooters on the team, he's just been struggling to translate it from practice to the game,'' he said. "He was huge tonight. Defensively, offensively, he was just a great factor tonight."
White used Francis-Ramirez 15 minutes off the bench Saturday and he even ran the offense through him as the team's point guard on a couple of possessions. White acknowledged that Francis-Ramirez has had a difficult time adjusting to the college game.
Since scoring 15 points in his first two games as a Gator, Francis-Ramirez had contributed just 19 more until his shot came to life against the Mountaineers.
"I haven't done a very good job with Brandone,'' White said. "I'm not taking any credit for what he did today. He's had a week here and a week there when he didn't get into the gym quite as much and maybe moped a little bit. Most guys go through that. Most freshmen do. But lately, he's had the right approach. Lately, he's been one of the last guys to leave the gym.
"After that first one fell for him, I'm sure his confidence increased and he was probably able to relax and take a deep breath. I thought his body language the rest of the game was terrific. Defensively, he didn't really hurt us either. I thought he played a very consistent game."
Francis-Ramirez said despite his struggles, his teammates have remained supportive. Instead of them having to lift him up, it was nice to be able to provide them a lift for a change.
"When that first shot fell in, let me shoot another one and see what happens,'' he said. "I had a really good feeling. I haven't felt that feeling in a long time. I was just really locked in. I'm tired of missing wide-open shots. This is not me. I'm way better than my numbers. I just got to finish off strong for my team."
