[valentine]

Was a big Steve francis fan even from his juco days. Find alot of similar traits in this game who would you take out of these two.

 

I got stevi  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOuv17jT00M

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwdw3k44Vd0

[esperanzafleet69Participant]

they have similiar games, but westbrook is a better scorer, defender, and more athletic than steve francis..

 

ill take russell..

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

I pick Westbrook, he is going to have the longer career I believe, he gets better and improves every year and has already had more success than Francis far as winning goes.

But with that being said I do think if Franchise would have not been so lazy and had discipline he could have been really great and would have been better than Westbrook, but instead Francis was out of the league at 31 and on the decline at 28.

One thing that does kind of scare me, even though he improves every year, I still think if Westbrook were to lose his athleticism today, he would be out of a job, so in some way I think they are basically the same, I just see Westbrook improving and being around longer.

Hope it makes some kind of sense lol

[meirmeir13]

Thats why I posted this forum I feel like if westbrook is slowed down in any way he will be playing out of the league. I see him as a player who can talent wise can drop quickly in  a short amount of years. Still a big fan

[meirmeir13]

Look at the first video lol

[Maniac MaciejParticipant]

Steve Francis is probably the lowside projection for Russell Westbrook at this point. They are statistically (and mentally) similar at this point in their careers (age 22-23). Francis was at his peak at this point, though. Is Westbrook?

[WinterSoldierParticipant]

After watching Francis youtube video I think a better comparison is between Marquis Teague and Steve Francis as far as stylistically. 

[surveParticipant]

 Francis shouldve been a lot better than he was.   I agree that at the same age Stevie had close to peaked while Russ still has a lot of upside left.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 Westbrook. Forget about the stats for a second. Steve Francis was a self-serving, streetball player who did nothing to make his team better. The guy was an entertainer who played a losing brand of basketball.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

DP

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

I think Steve Francis was equal to or better than Russell Westbrook.

Francis was just as good of an athlete. He was a better shooter. He was just as good in the passing lanes. A better rebounder. And Francis was a better play maker. Not to mention, I just think Francis had better talent. Francis was also a good clutch performer.

What ended Francis’ career was injuries, not laziness. He hurt his knees.  

People talk about Westbrook is more of a winning player, but he’s played with Kevin Durant his whole career.

Let’s just hope Westbrook can keep being injury free and not have to suffer some of the injuries Francis did.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

^^While injuries deinitely played a part, that’s not the only reason Francis fell off the face of the earth. Francis was just a talented streetballer who made it into the NBA. Even when he was putting up good stats he was still playing a streetball game.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Steve Francis was lazy, Grant Hill had career threatning injuries and is still playing, because on top of being an athlete he could do other things if his athleticism was to go, when Francis couldn’t dunk on people anymore and just blow by people he was out of the League at 31.

Couldn’t even cut it in the Chinese league, Injuries had something to do with it, but he relied heavily on his athletic abilites.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

No different than some of today’s young players, Francis was more sizzle than steak to start. However, injuries really did hurt him. He hurt his knees before he really refined enough of his game to be good without the athleticism. That’s why he fell off of the cliff.

But if you look at his first six seasons, before the knee injuries, he was super dynamic and as talented as any guard in the league.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Grant Hill played four years at Duke under Coach K, so of course he learned the right way to play the game. I don’t even think Hill is a good comparison because his whole life was different than Franics’ and the route he took was different.

Francis didn’t start playing ball until what… His junior season of high school? His family was poor. Went to JUCO… Lost his mother. Blew up at Maryland and then went pro. Just two totally different career paths. While Grant Hill on the other hand had a famous/rich father, had a structured life, etc, etc.

 

 

 

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 I agree with that, he was always more flash than anything 

And I also agree that injuries did have a big part in his fast way out the league, seeing as he never finished an entire NBA season, but if his skill level had been up to par he could have been a solid backup player, because Francis still was athletic, he wasn’t a bum, he still could get in the lane and explode for dunks from time to time, but he couldn’t do much else if he wasn’t dunking or trying to blow by people.

[Maniac MaciejParticipant]

Francis was almost as good as Vince in that infamous 2000 dunk contest. He was a ridiculous athlete.

Mentally, he wasn’t strong enough to overcome adversity. He freaked out first when he almost got drafted by Vancouver, and then when they traded his boy Cat Mobley from Oralndo, suddenly he had migraines all the time.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

So I guess Kobe Bryant wasn’t mentally strong either when he didn’t want to play for the Hornets? Or Eli Manning wasn’t mentally strong when he didn’t want to play for the Chargers? Or John Elway when he didn’t want to play for the Colts?

Francis lost his mother as a teenager and still had enough in him to get his grades right, work hard in JUCO, get a scholarship to Maryland and then go pro. I’d say that’s mentally strong.

And the migraines were legit… He struggled with those even at Maryland.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Lol cmon man that dont have nothing to do with Francis not getting his skill level up, if anything being poor,losing your mother, him not being big enough to play, should have made him want to get his game super tight to possibly better himself.

[NYK2010Participant]

Westbrook is a better defender and Francis was lazy it wasn’t just injuries.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 Francis was such a clown though. He’d cross someone over then pull it back even though he gained the advantage just so he could cross his defender over and over.

Pure street ball antics.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Lmao… I remember when he did that. He was immature.

 

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