Chat With Torin Francis Welcome to the UND.com chat room. This week’s special guest was freshman Torin Francis. He dropped by on Thursday to talk about his game-winning shot against Pittsburgh, his season and everything else on Irish fans’ mind. The freshman forward scored the game-winning basket with just .6 seconds remaining in last Sunday’s contest against Pittsburgh. Francis contributed seven points and five rebounds in the team’s 66-64 thriller. Francis (Roslindale, Mass.) is averaging 10.1 points and a team-leading 8.5 rebounds. In addition, he leads the team with seven double doubles. He posted his most recent double double of the season against Valparaiso on January 4 as he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Francis had a BIG EAST career-best 10 rebounds against Seton Hall on February 5. Francis has started all 23 games and has reached double figures in 12 contests and grabbed 10-plus rebounds in eight games. If you missed the chat, check out the transcript below. |
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| Torin Francis: Hello everyone, this is Torin Francis and I’m here to answer all of your questions. | ||
| j dub: yo torin, why’d you leave boston latin man? | ||
| Torin Francis: I lef because i felt that I needed to go to a school where I could get a better experience in basketaball. Bosotn Latin is a good school academically, but it wasn’t balanced with basketball. | ||
| Mike, Arlington: How good is Matt Carroll? Does it help having seniors on the team? | ||
| Torin Francis: Matt Carroll is really good, he has really developed into a good player throughout his years here. It’s been good for our team to have seniors, because they have that experience and they provide leadership to help the team. | ||
| paige, long island: What do you usually do with the your teammates when your not practicing and doing school work? | ||
| Torin Francis: My teammates and I are very close. We always hang out together off of the court. We do everything together. | ||
| Albany: Hey Torin! My name’s Jess and I’m a huge fan of yours. How did it feel to make that basket that won the game in the final seconds against Pittsburgh? | ||
| Torin Francis: It was very exciting. Every basketball player dreams of hitting the game-winning basket and I got to do that in one of the biggest games in my freshman year. | ||
| stratford nj: as a freshman what has been the most difficult aspect of your game to improve? | ||
| Torin Francis: The biggest difference between high school basketball and BIG EAST basketball has been the physical aspect of the game. I have had to get a lot stronger and a lot more aggressive to be a contributing factor. | ||
| kyle thomas maryland city: what kinds of grades do you get | ||
| Torin Francis: I get pretty good grades. I usually get A’s and B’s. | ||
| Duxbury, MA.: What was the biggest reason you attended N.D., over other universities? | ||
| Torin Francis: I visited several universities and in the end Notre Dame was my favorite. It was my favorite because it has a balance of academics and athletics. I like the team and the coaching staff. I felt I would have the opportunity to contribute as a freshman. | ||
| Synda (Fairfied Bay): What were your thoughts whenever time was running out at last Sundays game against Pittsburgh? Were you nervous about be able to make that shot? | ||
| Torin Francis: My only thought was that there wasn’t much time on the clock so I knew that I would have to shoot the ball quickly in order for it to count. I wasn’t nervous because it was purely instinctive. I didn’t actually realize what had happened until after I made the shot. | ||
| dan(indianapolis): How do you guys feel heading into the tournament with how you have played so far this season? | ||
| Torin Francis: Heading into the postseason, we feel very confident. We have been playing well together as a team but there are still a few things that we need to work on and we have the remainder of the regular season to do so. | ||
| Walter Keiling , Mishawaka: Are you having as much fun as we fans are? | ||
| Torin Francis: Yes, I am having a lot of fun because I am doing what I love. It makes it even more fun to play when we have the support from all the students and the fans. When we won the game against Pittsburgh and all of our students rushed the court, that was one of the most exciting times I have experienced. | ||
| leticia bpt: u guys play alot of games all over and have alot of practices how do u ever get n e time 2 study 4 ur classes?? | ||
| Torin Francis: We have to be responsible about budgeting our time so we can get our work done. Usually, we practice in the afternoon so that gives us the rest of the night to study. | ||
| Joe (NYC): What basketball player did you aspire to be like when you were growing up? | ||
| Torin Francis: When I first began playing basketball, my favorite player was Hakeem Olajuwon. Now my favorite player is Kevin Garnett because he is so skilled. | ||
| Torin Francis: Thank you for all the questions. They were all really good. Be sure to continue watching and supporting the Irish. | ||
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