March 31, 1999

The following is the complete press conference in which Steve Francis announced he will make himself eligible for the 1999 NBA Draft, which took place at Cole Field House on Wednesday, March 31.

Maryland Head Basketball Coach Gary Williams: The purpose of this press conference is to - big surprise - announce that Steve Francis has decided to declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Steve and I have talked several times since the end of our season. We have discussed various issues relating to his decision.

After speaking with several sources, who are connected to NBA teams and people whose business is to be knowledgeable about the draft, it is obvious that Steve will be a very high lottery pick. Steve has done a tremendous job in his year at the University of the Maryland. He arrived with more advanced publicity than any player I have ever coached.

Our veteran players welcomed the addition of Steve and Steve went out of his way to be part of the team. This resulted in 28 wins, a school record. Steve is in good academic standing. Obviously, we as a team did not want Steve to leave. However, very few people in their lifetime get the opportunity that Steve has ahead of him. Steve has promised that he will do everything he can to maximize his situation. The Maryland basketball family wishes Steve much success.

Steve Francis: Good morning everyone. Throughout the season, people have been wondering if I would return to Maryland for my senior year. During the season, my primary focus was strictly on my team and my education. Turning pro was not a primary focus. After the season, as I previously stated, I wanted to speak with my family and with coach Williams about the prospect of turning pro or staying at the University of Maryland for my senior year.

As many of you are aware, my family is my backbone, my support, so that last few weeks, they have helped me think about my future.. My grandmother Mable, who gave me everything to raise my family, not only did she give us a roof over our heads and food on the table, but more important, she gave us the love, support and balance that we needed.

My grandmother strength became especially important after my mom passed away. My sister Tiffany, my two brothers Jeff and Terry, I love them very much. Those guys have been great to me and very encouraging throughout the year. Nate Peak, who I consider a mentor, a brother, has been instrumental to me and my family for years.

These people are my family and have been there to keep me focused on my future and respected the values handed down to me by my mother and my grandmother. I want them to be right there by my side.

I want to thank coach Williams and my teammates. They made a newcomer feel right at home. I know you guys are just as proud of me as I am proud of you. As many of know I took me some time to get here today. I could have done it without my family and friends, who gave me the foundation to succeed.

I thank God for blessing me with my family and giving me guidance throughout all the turmoil in my life. More importantly, he has given the power to go forward. With God, my family and my friends on my side, I believe it is time to take the next step. To take the next challenge and start an exciting new chapter of my life to live out my dream.

I am announcing my decision to become eligible for the 1999 NBA Draft. I am also committed to my education and I will be back here at Maryland to receive my college degree. I hope that each and everyone of you will stand behind me on my journey to make the dream come true. Thank you and god bless.

Question: Can you describe the decision making process, Steve?

Francis: It was something that I have been thinking about not only this year, but last year, I also contemplated it. It took a while for me to come to this decision.

Question: How did you arrive at you decision?

Francis: It has been something I have been thinking about and with help of my grandmother and people that I am very close to I think that this is the right decision for me.

Question: You thought about going to the NBA last year. How close were you to making the decision last year?

Francis: I think last year just more of wondering. I was thinking about it with coach Kirk (of Allegany Junior College). This year, I think I came to the right decision.

Question: Steve, in the decision making process, what did things did you consider?

Francis: I thought about my family. With my grandmother besides me and the timing, it was the only way to go out.

Question: How hard was it to focus on basketball with all of the attention being placed on the decision to go to the NBA as the season moved along?

Francis: The later half of the season was real tough, because any time I walked into the locker room I would have to face that question. But being a team player, I think I really focused on the task at hand which was playing basketball.

Question: With opposing team paying a lot of attention to you, did that influence your decision at all?

Francis: Not really. We had a really good team all season long and for a team to focus on one player that really isnt going to help that at all.

Question: Talk about the late season, when the attention was put on you and talk of going to the NBA

Francis: I was focused on the task at hand. We were definitely trying to win a championship at that time. From the end of the season to now, there have been a lot of things going on. I talked to my grandmother and I think this was the right thing to do.

Question: Did Obinna Ekezies injury have anything to do with you making the decision to go to the NBA, in fear of getting hurt in your senior year?

Francis: I thought about that, but its very seldom that I guy would come back for his senior year and get injured.

Question: What will you miss about the Maryland program, leaving one year early?

Francis: The players on the team will be the biggest thing. The senior leadership from players like Terrell Stokes and things he has taught me. I will take those things to the next level. I will also miss coming to a packed College Park house.

Question:What were the pros and cons of coming back? Were there any reasons to come back for another year?

Francis: My teammates and my coach would be the reasons why I would come back. The possibility of hopefully going back to the NCAA Tournament and winning a national championships.

Question: Has it sunk in that you will never have another chance to play for the national championship again?

Francis: Not really, maybe next year when I am watching it on TV, I will think about it, but right now I am taking it in stride.

Question: The thought of being National Player of the Year or ACC Player of the Year, did the thought of those things make you think about coming back again?

Francis: I thought about all the honors I could have received next season, but the pros of me going pro outweigh those.

Question: On what day did you decide that you would go?

Francis: It wasnt just a one day thing. It took me a while to really think about it and I think I came to my decision a couple of days ago.

Question: What did you learn in the past year?

Francis: I was already a team player, but coming here I became more of a team player and to change you game to become an asset to the team. I fit in real well with this team and helped this team out a lot this year.

Question: Gary, what kind of conversations did you have with Steve over the last few weeks? How has you relationship with him been recently?

Williams: I thought Steve and I did a good job staying in touch with each other because there were so many rumors of there. We just had to keep everything where we knew what was going on. Steve did a great job with that. My job, in that situation, with Steve and Joe Smith, is to t make sure they know both sides of the issue in other words, put everything out there in terms of how the NBA feels about Steve and whats ahead of him next year if he would stay. I would try to answer any questions from my position that I could help Steve with. I am really proud of Steve in the process that he went through and in his maturity or looking at the situation. I think he did a great job.

Question: Gary, do you think Steve is ready for the next step in the NBA?

Williams: I dont have any doubt about Steves ability to play in the NBA. Steve has the ability to blend in very quickly into a new situation, which he mentioned. That is very important in the NBA. Its not just the talent that Steve has, its also you ability to adopt and adapt to a new situation. I think Steve can do that.

Question: Steve, can you talk about you emotions right now after making the decision.

Francis: I think, when I finally decided a few days ago, I was more emotional than I am right now. I made the decision a couple of days ago and spoke with coach Williams then, and I think I was more emotionally about it then, than I am now.

Question: Did you make you decision Monday?

Francis: I wouldnt exactly say Monday, I made my decision a couple of days ago.

Question: Steve, what do you have to say to your fans, especially the students, who have supported you?

Francis: I would just like to thank everyone that has been supportive of not only me, but everyone who has supported this Maryland Terrapin program this year. We accomplished a lot this year. Even though, we didnt win the national championship, I still think we have a lot to hold our heads up high about. I would like to thank all the fans and all the students, especially all those to came to every game and supported our team.

Question: How do you feel about so-called experts thinking that you should stay another year to fine tune your game?

Francis: Thats just someone's opinion. I think I've worked real hard to put myself in the position to make this decision. I think this is the right decision for me.

Question: Have you left the door open to come back in the case that, down the road, things don't work out for you in the draft?

Francis: I haven't done anything like that. But I think this is the right decision for me to make, today.

Question: Who is your professional representation, and have you had any endorsement deals yet?

Francis:I haven't talked about anything of that nature yet. I just wanted to get this out of the way.

Question: Gary, I'll ask you the same question.

Williams: Steve doesn't have an agent, he said he doesn't have an agent, and he's telling the truth.

Question: Gary, this process is difficult at your level because you lose a brilliant player like Stevie, and you had him for only a brief time. You advised Joe (Smith, former Terps' #1 draft pick) to go, did you want to talk Steve into staying?

Williams: The only thing about my job in this situation is to make sure Steve understands the total situation, that there are good points about staying at Maryland and there are good points about going to the NBA. As far as another year in learning the point guard position, as you continue in the game of basketball you are always learning the game whether it's at the college level or the pro level. I've seen guys go into the NBA level and really change their game. I know how talented Steve is. I've seen him everyday at practice and I know what he can do. He is an NBA talent, there is no doubt about that. Sure, another year in college has some very strong points to do that. But at the same time, it's also a chance to go into the NBA now and be very successful. And obviously, the financial situation is a part of that, too.

Question: Steve, how would you like to be remembered as a player at Maryland?

Francis: I want to be remembered, definitely, as a team player and someone who would sacrifice anything for his teammates whether it's on or off the court. And someone who's willing to win at any cost.

Question: You've already talked about what you've overcome to get here and how it hasn't always been easy. On a personal level, how do you feel now that this day has finally come and you have a lot more reasons to go.

Francis: I definitely have a lot of excelling to do. I'm a young guy and there's a lot for me to venture into later in my life. I think this was the time for me to make this decision based on the numerous phone calls my grandma was receiving at 11, 12:00 at night and 6 and 7 in the morning. That was really bugging her, so I wanted to get it over.

Question: What kind of role did the financial part play in your final decision?

Francis: It was something that I weighed with all the options that I had. It wasn't the number one thing that made me make this decision, but it's definitely something that I thought about.

Question: Did any of your teammates try to talk you out of this?

Francis: Of course, all the guys that are coming back. But they all knew my situation and they gave me their blessings. I told them that just because I decided to enter the draft, it doesn't mean I'm not going to continue class here and practicing with the guys.

Question: When you were growing up, is there any team in the NBA that you particularly liked or would like to play for?

Francis: Everyone liked Chicago when they were growing up, but I really don't have a preference. I just want to be able to get out on the court and show my skills off.

Question: Gary, this is probably not a day you've been looking forward to. Did you expect it?

Williams: I really didn't give it as much thought as the some of the media believes. When you're in the season, you're trying to do everything you can to win each game, and it was a very pressurized season this year because we were ranked fifth in the country preseason. And so, each day was a fight to keep us there, and as a coach I really focused on that. I told Steve early on, in October, that whatever happens, happens, and we'll talk about it at the end of the season. That's basically what we did. Steve had a lot to do in terms of playing, and I didn't want Steve's situation to effect our team negatively. I thought guys like Terrell (Stokes) and the rest of the seniors certainly did an outstanding job in that situation. It really worked out well. I was really pleased with how the season went. I know losing to St. John's hurt, but when you step back from that one game and look back at the overall picture, guys like Terrell and Steve just did a tremendous job this year.

Question: Can you talk about what your grandmother said to you when you talked about the decision?

Francis: Just like all the decisions I've made previously, she said she would be behind me not just 100 percent, but 200 percent. Whatever my final decision is, she's going to back me.

Question:When you ever had a chance to reflect by yourself, what did you think about?

Francis:I thought about the guys that I was leaving, my teammates. I thought about how young our team was. All the young guys we had coming back --- Terence Morris, Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter and Danny Miller. I really thought a lot about those guys more than anything.

Question:(joke) Did you hear today's rumor out of Charlotte that MJ is coming back as a full-time player?

Francis:I've tried to stay away from the newspapers the last couple of weeks. (Williams: "Good move, Steve.") I haven't read the newspapers, so I'll probably find about it later on today. (laugh)

Question: It's been an emotional day, but you're going to the NBA. It's got to be really exciting, isn't it?

Francis: Just like when I came to Maryland, it was my dream to come here. I grew up here and I've been wanting to come here all my life. Maybe when the time comes, just like before a game, I'll be more excited then. But right now I'm just going to take it one day at a time.

Question: Gary, how does this impact recruiting, now that Steve's out of the picture for next year?

Williams: I think, first of all, I look forward to coaching our team next year. The guys Steve mentioned are great players and they proved it at a very young age in our program. We're going to be a very good team next year. I wish Steve was here because he makes every team he's been on, and will be on, a better basketball team. But at the same time, if we can make up for the loss of Terrell and Laron and Obinna, I think we can be a very good team. Obviously the recruiting goes on, and it never stops anyway. Once I talked to Steve, we just happen to have a home visit tonight at 8:00. It's a recruiting period now.

Question: What have you learned in the last year?

Williams: What I learned from Steve was that, until you really get to know somebody, you really don't know the depth of the person. You see Steve as a basketball player and I'm sure all of you have marveled at what he can do on the basketball court. But I see him everyday in practice, I see how he relates to the other players and assistant coaches and myself. You don't get the package that Steve has very often. I think that's why he's going to be very successful at the next level. In other words, he is very personable to go along with being a very great player. Sometimes those two things don't go hand-in-hand, as we've all seen. But in Steve's case, as long as he keeps his head on straight, he is going to be a tremendous ambassador for the game of basketball in addition to what he does on the court.