North Carolina Transfer Jeremiah Francis Receives Waiver to Play 2020-21 Season

The former Tar Heel is immediately eligible after being granted a waiver by the NCAA.

New Mexico head coach Paul Weir announced that newly transferred Jeremiah Francis was cleared by the NCAA making him immediately eligible to play the upcoming basketball season. 

It was late April when Francis entered the transfer portal; two short weeks later he found a home at the university of New Mexico. 

Coach Roy Williams took a risk on a kid with multiple injuries; he missed his junior and senior years in high school due to those injuries, which resulted in his absence from the start of the 2019-2020 basketball season. The Ohio native was the first to commit to Roy Williams for the class of 2019.

 As a freshman, Francis played in just 16 of 33 games; he got his first start on December 30, 2019, the night Williams won game number 879 and tied his mentor, Coach Dean Smith.

In those 16 games, three of which he started, Francis averaged 3.3 points and 1.6 assists while shooting 22.7% from the field. His inability to have consistent shooting stunted his growth in rotation and, as a result, only averaged 13.6 minutes per game.

“I believe [attending UNM] will be an incredible opportunity for me and my family from an academic standpoint, as well as a basketball standpoint." Francis said, "I have bonded very well with the coaching staff since entering the transfer portal.”

Since his arrival, Francis eligibility to immediately start was questioned until today. Weir announced that Francis will be able to start for the upcoming 2020-21 basketball season. 

“We received the news of Jeremiah’s immediate eligibility yesterday afternoon. Besides the happiness and excitement I feel for him and his family, I also am incredibly thankful to all of the people at UNC who supported him, including Coach (Roy) Williams. I also want to thank the work of many here at UNM, including Eric Schultz in our compliance office, as well as the NCAA for its outstanding guidance throughout this process.”

In his comments regarding the guard, Weir states that Francis is the complete package and will have an immediate impact on the program. 

“Jeremiah truly brings a complete package to Lobo Basketball,” Weir said. “His basketball abilities are tremendous, yet are surrounded by a young man of high character and a thirst for winning. We can’t wait for him to arrive and have an impact on our program. He has a chance to improve Lobo Basketball in a myriad of ways"

Francis will be entering New Mexico as a sophomore. 

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