Blankenship adds Francis to staff
September 12, 2012
SHREVEPORT, La. - The LSUS Men's Basketball Head Coach Kyle Blankenship has added Chris Francis to his inaugural staff, as announced today by the first-year head coach.
"I am extremely excited to have Chris join our staff here at LSUS," said Blankenship. "He has experienced a tremendous amount of success as a player and coach, and he will bring a winning attitude to our program."
Francis enters his first season as an assistant coach for the Pilots in 2012-13. His responsibilities will include recruiting, opponent scouting, individual player workouts, on the floor coaching and monitoring the academic progress of the men's basketball student-athletes. In addition, he will oversee the men's basketball strength and conditioning program while also assisting Coach Blankenship with the day-to-day operations of the program.
Francis comes to LSUS after spending the last six years as a player and student assistant at Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma where he helped guide Hillcats to back-to-back appearances (2011 and 2012) in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. He was also a key member of Rogers State's 2008-09 team that won the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, while finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
As the team-captain his senior year, Francis propelled the Hillcats to the school's first-ever National Tournament victory with a blocked shot in the final seconds of Rogers State's upset win over No. 5 Texas Wesleyan University. That season, he also was named one of four recipients of the prestigious Pattison Championship of Character Scholarship, which is awarded annually at the NAIA National Tournament.
Francis is part of Rogers State men's basketball history as one of the first players to ever sign and play for the Hillcats. He was member of the first-year program in 2007 that has since gone on to win 20 plus games in each season of the team's existence. He finished his career holding many RSU school records including most career wins (94), career games played (123), career steals (140) and is third all-time in career three -pointers with 131.
Francis graduated from Rogers State in May of 2012 with a degree in Sports Management.
