Francis Is a Real Find for Floyd

The first steal of the Tim Floyd era might have been made by the coach himself, who appears to have found a treasure in freshman point guard Ryan Francis.

Francis had orally committed to Louisiana Lafayette as a senior at Baton Rouge (La.) Glen Oaks High when Floyd joined the recruiting game last winter after being hired as USC’s coach.

Floyd was in New Orleans to be with his wife, who was having surgery, when a friend who lived in the area told him about Francis. Floyd said that after his wife had recovered, he drove to Francis’ school and started recruiting the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder.

Francis, who wasn’t recruited by any major basketball programs, weighed his options.

“That was a tough choice because I was thinking about just staying at home and changing the program over there,” Francis said, referring to Louisiana Lafayette. “Then I was thinking about coming out here. Education-wise, I wanted to come out here.”

Francis has impressed while starting every game for the Trojans (4-2), who will try to win their fifth consecutive game Saturday when they play Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion. He has emerged as USC’s fourth leading scorer, averaging 6.2 points, and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than two to one.

“I felt like early on, even though he was undersized, he was a guy who could play in this league, and I still feel that way,” Floyd said.

Francis has shared ballhandling duties with sophomore Gabe Pruitt and senior Dwayne Shackleford, freeing Pruitt to play more on the wing. Francis has also established himself as a tenacious defender, stealing an inbounds pass in the final 15 seconds to fuel a comeback victory over Alaska Anchorage.

“He’s done a great job, playing against some pretty good guards, and he kind of took them out of their game,” Pruitt said. “That’s what he does best.”