Pickerington Central rising sophomore point guard Jeremiah Francis is no stranger to Ohio State.
After all, Ohio's top point guard in 2019 is the son of two Buckeye graduates, as his father Jerry Francis was a 1,000-point scorer from 1985-89. For the younger Francis, Ohio State and newly hired assistant coach Chris Jent have established a strong relationship with the 6-foot-2 floor general, as Francis visited the Ohio State campus earlier this week.
"The visit was really great," Francis told Eleven Warriors. Taking a tour of all the academic facilities that the campus has to offer, Ohio State turned its conversation toward Francis' abilities on the hardwood.
"They've been talking about how I play, my strengths and weakness and stuff that I need to continue to work on to be called an elite point guard," Francis said.
A hometown kid that was a major part of a district title-winning team at Pickerington Central a season ago, Francis likes the idea of eventually suiting up in the scarlet and grey.
"I think I would fill in great [at Ohio State]," Francis said. "It's a hometown team, my parents went to college there and I just have a lot of built in support.
"My parents and I have built a great relationship with coach Jent to lead me to success at The Ohio State University."
The area's No. 2 ranked player in the 2019 class, Francis fills in right behind Gahanna wing Jordan Mitchell, who has already received an offer from Ohio State. In the same division in the OCC-Ohio, fans of Central Ohio hoops can look forward to head-to-head matchups between Francis' Tigers and Mitchell's Lions for years to come.
While both teams lose large chunks of talent in the 2016 class, Pickerington Central appears to be the strongest of the two, with Francis' presence being a major reason for that.
"This year won't change a lot, just me stepping up being a leader and also the point guard," Francis said. "Right now I have to step up and be a leader keep everybody together. Communicating on offense and defense but it's not really going to change a lot , just myself being in a leader spot more so than last year."
On a 2015-16 team that featured Michigan freshman wing Ibi Watson and Northern Kentucky freshman wing Jalen Tate, Francis was put in a position he's not used to as a secondary scorer. With Watson and Tate taking the load of scoring off his shoulders, Francis was able to manage the game from the point guard spot, while learning a great deal from the elder statesmen.
"It was really great to play along with them as I had to learn that I'm not the go-to guy," Francis said. "I really learned a lot from Jalen on and off the court, and Ibi, I really learn a lot from watching him and the way he acts professionally."
As Francis returns alongside a talented Tigers supporting cast that includes 6-foot-10 rising senior center Sterling Manley, who has more than a dozen offers, Francis is looking to return to the arena that played host to him earlier in the week.
"This year we are expected to go deep in the playoffs with some key transfers," Francis said. "We should be able to go to the Schott in March."
If the Tigers are fortunate enough to make a state final four trip to Columbus in March, it may not be the last time that Francis plays on the floor of the Value City Arena in his career.
