TORONTO — Former Canadian men’s basketball team member and Olympian Greg Francis has died at the age of 48.
Canada Basketball confirmed the news on Monday.
The cause of death was not released.
Francis competed for Canada at both the 1998 FIBA men’s world championship and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
Former national team player and coach Leo Rautins was among a number of those who posted tributes online.
“So sad to learn that former @CanBball player and coach Greg Francis has passed away! I’m in shock. A basketball lifer — and more importantly, a beautiful person who touched so many people. My heartfelt condolences to his family #GoneTooSoon,” Rautins said on Twitter.
“He made a colossal impact as a coach and leader for (so) many. RIP my brother,” said TSN Radio 690 Montreal NBA insider Peter Yannopoulos on Twitter.
After a successful high school career at Toronto’s Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Francis went on to play NCAA basketball with the Fairfield University Stags from 1994 to 1997.
The six-foot-three guard was an all-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference second team honouree in 1996 and later earned MAAC Championship MVP honours in the Stags’ title win in his senior — and following — season and led the Stags to the NCAA Tournament.
Francis was inducted into the Fairfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
“The thoughts of everybody in the Fairfield community are with Greg’s family and friends,” read a tweet from the school’s athletics page.
After graduating, he played professionally for four years in Lebanon, Israel and England.
Following his playing career, the Toronto native moved into coaching. Francis was an assistant coach on the senior men’s national squad in 2005 before becoming head coach of the national men’s under-18 team from 2006 to 2011.
He also served as the men’s basketball head coach for the University of Alberta Golden Bears (2009-12), University of Waterloo Warriors (2013-15), and the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks (2019-22).
Francis led the Golden Bears to a Canada West title and a CIS national silver medal in 2012.
The Warriors said Francis left his mark with players during his stint with the team.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of former MBB Head Coach Greg Francis. Greg coached our Warriors for three seasons (2012-15) making an everlasting impression on our student-athletes,” the team tweeted.
He was appointed as the manager of men’s high performance at Canada Basketball in 2015 and most recently held the role of Director of Sport Development for Ontario Basketball.
In between that time, Francis was the first head of basketball for the CEBL and helped lead the league’s first-ever player showcase in 2018.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.
