Jeremiah Francis sees the Pickerington Central state championship photo from 2012 every single day. It reminds him of what he’s currently chasing.
Francis wasn’t on that team — he’s currently a sophomore for the Tigers and one of the top 2019 point guard prospects in the country — but he is in this particular photo. His father, Jerry, was the head coach of that 2012 state championship team which featured former Michigan star Caris LeVert and current Ohio State standout Jae’Sean Tate. Jeremiah was just along for the ride.
But now, some five years later, the four-star prospect has the keys to the car and has Pickerington Central one win away from a return to the state Final Four. Led by a 25-point and five-assist performance from Francis on Wednesday night, the Tigers blew past St. Charles, 75–53, and they’ll face cross-town rival Pickerington North — and 2018 Ohio State offer Jerome Hunter — on Saturday night with a spot in the state semifinals on the line.
“I look at that [photo] every day,” Francis said. “It’s in our locker room and we all see it every day. I see my big head in the picture, giggling with Caris and all of them. I want to get back there and it’s a great feeling.”
In addition to leading his team — which also features 2017 North Carolina signee Sterling Manley — Francis also saw his recruitment blow up a bit this season as a sophomore. The 6-foot-2 point guard has offers from a handful of high major programs and his most recent one came from the hometown school: Ohio State.
The Buckeyes offered Francis following an unofficial visit for their game against Nebraska on Feb. 18. It was a rather meaningful offer for Francis because not only is Ohio State the school located just 20 minutes away, it’s also where his father played college basketball. Jeremiah Francis is the son of Jerry Francis, a 1,000-point scorer for the Buckeyes back in the 1980s.
Ohio State is certainly one of the favorites to land the younger Francis. But he also has offers from West Virginia, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and others. And he has a big spring ahead of AAU ball with Indiana Elite on the Adidas circuit. More offers will surely come.
“The process, it’s long but it’s a journey I want to go through,” Francis said. “It gets irritating sometimes and I argue with my dad about it. But Ohio State is Ohio State and it’s right here, it’s home. [My dad] went there and I want to be better than my dad and we always argue about that.”
“My mom, she really likes West Virginia and we go back and forth about that. They play my style, Coach [Bob] Huggins is a great coach and he’s going to get on your butt and I want coaches like that. Recruiting is a long process but it’s a process I want to go through, though.”
On the floor, Francis is a dynamic point guard who can do it all. He scores, rebounds, passes and defends and has the ideal frame to be a big-time college prospect.
“He’s very advanced,” current Pickerington Central head coach Eric Krueger said. “He’s a very high-level kid, high-level player and he always has been ever since I’ve known him since I was younger.”
“His game still has a lot of growth and he’s got a lot of room to grow and continue to get better. He’s got a chance to be super special for us and he’s already pretty dang special now.”
Francis said he wants to make a college decision in the fall prior to his junior season on the hardwood. It certainly won’t be an easy choice, but the Buckeyes are in a good spot for Francis despite their lack of success the last two seasons.
Francis is well aware of the current state of the Ohio State program, too. It’s hard not to be as the Columbus kid with a parent who played for the Buckeyes. But Francis was pretty emphatic in saying that doesn’t worry him as a recruit. In fact, it may even make him want to stay home that much more.
“It makes me want to be a guy that gets there and gets it going again,” he said. “I want the Schott to be rocking again. … I want to get that program back going and get the Schott going again.”
