Oregon State Introduces New Men's Hoops Assistant Coach

Francis last served as an assistant coach at Nebraska during the 2005-06 season.

Jerome Francis Jr. Photo: University of Nebraska Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State men’s basketball head coach Jay John quickly filled a vacancy on his coaching staff today, as he introduced Jerome Francis Jr. as a new assistant coach.

Francis has previously been an NCAA Division I head coach and is a long-time assistant.

Francis replaces Jeff Reinert, who has left to take a higher-ranking position of associate head coach at Fresno State. Reinert is a longtime friend of Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland.

Francis is no stranger to Oregon State’s coaches, as he, John and assistant coach Kevin Mouton were all on the staff together at Butler during the 1993-94 season.

“Jerry, Kevin and I have had a relationship for quite some time,” John said. “In replacing Jeff, the first person that came to mind was Jerry. I’ve seen him coach before and I can’t think of a better person to work with the big guys. I think he’s going to be a tremendous asset to the program and I’m excited to be able to work with him again. Jerry has extremely engaging personality. He’s an intense guy, but he knows how to build relationships. He’s going to be an instant hit with our players.”

Francis last served as an assistant coach at Nebraska during the 2005-06 season. He helped the Cornhuskers to a 19-14 overall record, into the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament and a berth in the NIT.

Prior to that, Francis was the head coach at Prairie View A&M University for three seasons (2003-05).

He was the 2002-03 Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after he led the Panthers to a 17-12 record and the regular-season title. It was Prairie View’s first conference title since 1962, and Francis was also honored as the National Rookie Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com.

Oregon State and Prairie View met twice during his tenure (the Beavers won both times). Eight of his players earned all-league honors.

Francis has also been an assistant coach at Houston for two seasons (2001-02), Ball State for three seasons (1998-00), Wyoming for one season (1997), Ohio State for three seasons (1995-97), Butler for one season (1994) and Bowling Green for one season (1993).

During the one season that Francis, John and Mouton worked as assistant coaches for Barry Collier at Butler, the Bulldogs went 16-13 overall and tied for second place in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with Coach John and with the Oregon State Athletic Department under the guidance of Bob De Carolis,” Francis said. “I want everyone to know that Coach John is a great man, an outstanding coach and an even better friend. So I’m just blessed by this opportunity and look forward to working with him.”

Francis will be tasked with working with OSU’s post players, which includes Kansas transfer C.J. Giles and sophomores-to-be Roeland Schaftenaar and Calvin Hampton.

“I know a little bit about C.J. from when I was at Nebraska and he was at Kansas, and I’ve been reading the bios and watching some tapes of the other guys,” Francis said. “I’m excited about the incoming freshmen. We’re going to part of a working man’s program and I’ll have them competing every day.”

Francis graduated from Ohio State with a degree in education in 1991.

He was a four-year starter for the Buckeyes from 1986-89 and appeared in four postseason tournaments. On Ohio State’s all-time records list, he ranks first in games played (133), tied for first in games started (126) and 16th in scoring (1,486 points).

All four of his Ohio State teams won at least 19 games and had a combined record of 78-55.

The Buckeyes won the 1986 NIT championship, made it to the 1987 NCAA Tournament’s second round and also took part in the 1988 and 1989 NIT Tournaments. He was a co-captain his senior year.

He is a native of Columbus, Ohio. He is married to Mimi Lang Francis. He has two 13-year-old twin daughters, Jarel and Jaren, and two sons, Duntae (20) and Jeremiah (6).

Reinert was part of the OSU coaching staff for five seasons. He worked with OSU’s big men, handled future scheduling and shared recruiting duties.

“Steve (Cleveland) and I have known each other for a long time since we were in Utah,” Reinert said. “It’s a bittersweet thing to leave and go somewhere else because I really love it here. It was a difficult decision but I want the opportunity to be a head coach again one day and this will help position myself to do that. It’s the number one and only reason why I’m making this move. I appreciate the opportunity that Coach John gave me here and I’m excited about the future of Oregon State. There’s a lot of talent here and I think they’re going to have a very good year.”

Reinert was the head coach at Utah Valley State from 1995 to 2002, and Cleveland was the head coach at BYU from 1998 to 2005, which is where they first met.

“Jeff has done a wonderful job for us in many areas,” John said. “He’s built a lot of great relationships here. Jeff played an integral part in helping to build the Oregon State basketball program. He and Steve Cleveland have a relationship that goes back a lot longer than I’ve known Jeff, and I think this opportunity makes sense for him. I’d like to thank Jeff for the time that he put in here.”

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports