Brandone Francis-Ramirez did not play in seven of UF's final nine games. Now the redshirt freshman guard is transferring.
Francis-Ramirez Transferring
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
The junior off-guard struggled with his shooting all season.
Harry Fodder
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In his first (and now only) Florida season, Brandone Francis-Ramirez got caught in a downward shooting spiral and just never could get out of it. A fresh start, change of scenery, do-over — however you want to put it — just seemed like the best thing for him.
Francis-Ramirez, the 6-foot-5 off-guard from the Dominican Republic, is transferring out of the UF program and will look to land at a junior college and play this fall.
"I want it to work out for him," Gators coach Mike White said Wednesday. "We really appreciate what Brandone did here and wish him the best."
A top-40 national prospect out of the prep school basketball factory at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Francis-Ramirez had to sit out the 2014-15 season due to academic reasons and saw his playing time over his '15-16 redshirt freshman season diminish as the season wore on. In 29 games, Francis-Ramirez averaged 10.8 minutes (with two starts) and struggled mightily to get shots to fall, finishing 20.2 percent from the floor, including 10-for-59 from the 3-point line (16.9 percent), in averaging just 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.
His game numbers belied his behind-the-scenes shooting during a half-season working with the scout team at practice under Coach Billy Donovan's staff, as well as his time with White and his assistants. In fact, White's staff figured Francis-Ramirez would work his way into the starting small forward spot by the beginning of the Southeastern Conference season, based on his offseason workouts and preseason practices.
Through the first two games, Francis-Ramirez was 6-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-8 from deep, but then came a dreadful tailspin when he made just six of his next 58 field-goal attempts, including just two of 31 from deep.
Then came a perfect 3-for-3 display in UF's rousing 88-71 defeat of No. 9 West Virginia. It seemed like a breakout moment.
"I had a really good feeling. I haven't felt that feeling in a long time. I was just really locked in," an upbeat Francis-Ramirez said after the game. "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."
It didn't happen.
Instead, the shooting woes continued and Francis-Ramirez lost his place in the UF rotation. He played in just two of UF's final seven games.
Give "BFR" some credit, however. Despite his on-court struggles, he remained mostly upbeat for his teammates and coaches, continued to play hard in practice and had a positive outlook during individual instructions workouts after the season was over.
He is better than those numbers. Now he has to prove it. It just won't be with the Gators.
By going the JC route, Francis-Ramirez not only will be able to play next fall, but upon completion of his academic requirements he'll be able to transfer to a Division-I program and play right away.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In his first (and now only) Florida season, Brandone Francis-Ramirez got caught in a downward shooting spiral and just never could get out of it. A fresh start, change of scenery, do-over — however you want to put it — just seemed like the best thing for him.
Francis-Ramirez, the 6-foot-5 off-guard from the Dominican Republic, is transferring out of the UF program and will look to land at a junior college and play this fall.
"I want it to work out for him," Gators coach Mike White said Wednesday. "We really appreciate what Brandone did here and wish him the best."
A top-40 national prospect out of the prep school basketball factory at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Francis-Ramirez had to sit out the 2014-15 season due to academic reasons and saw his playing time over his '15-16 redshirt freshman season diminish as the season wore on. In 29 games, Francis-Ramirez averaged 10.8 minutes (with two starts) and struggled mightily to get shots to fall, finishing 20.2 percent from the floor, including 10-for-59 from the 3-point line (16.9 percent), in averaging just 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.
His game numbers belied his behind-the-scenes shooting during a half-season working with the scout team at practice under Coach Billy Donovan's staff, as well as his time with White and his assistants. In fact, White's staff figured Francis-Ramirez would work his way into the starting small forward spot by the beginning of the Southeastern Conference season, based on his offseason workouts and preseason practices.
Through the first two games, Francis-Ramirez was 6-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-8 from deep, but then came a dreadful tailspin when he made just six of his next 58 field-goal attempts, including just two of 31 from deep.
Then came a perfect 3-for-3 display in UF's rousing 88-71 defeat of No. 9 West Virginia. It seemed like a breakout moment.
"I had a really good feeling. I haven't felt that feeling in a long time. I was just really locked in," an upbeat Francis-Ramirez said after the game. "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."
It didn't happen.
Instead, the shooting woes continued and Francis-Ramirez lost his place in the UF rotation. He played in just two of UF's final seven games.
Give "BFR" some credit, however. Despite his on-court struggles, he remained mostly upbeat for his teammates and coaches, continued to play hard in practice and had a positive outlook during individual instructions workouts after the season was over.
He is better than those numbers. Now he has to prove it. It just won't be with the Gators.
By going the JC route, Francis-Ramirez not only will be able to play next fall, but upon completion of his academic requirements he'll be able to transfer to a Division-I program and play right away.
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