EASY DOES IT

GRANADA HILLS —  Midwin Francis of Granada Hills High is so adept at rebounding, he could give lessons, right?

Wrong.

“I just try to read where the ball is going to go and I try to get myself there,” said Francis, shrugging his shoulders.

The simple approach has worked for the lanky, 6-foot-4 senior forward, who leads the region in rebounding with an average of 15.9. He averages nearly two rebounds more than any other player.

Francis makes it look easy even in the toughest circumstances.

“At times he just amazes me how he comes out of nowhere to get the rebound,” Coach Lou Cicciari said.

Earlier this month, Francis demonstrated his ability against Taft, ranked No. 3 in the region by The Times, and 6-8 Toreador center Gregg Guenther.

Although he gave up four inches and 35 pounds to Guenther, Francis continually sliced through traffic and grabbed 23 rebounds. Guenther finished with 10.

“He has tremendous rebounding instincts,” Taft Coach Mark Drucker said of Francis. “He has a knack for going and finding the ball. . . and he’s relentless on the boards.”

Considering Francis’ domination on the boards, it is hard to believe he wasn’t playing with the varsity team until the middle of last season.

Cicciari said he kept Francis on the junior varsity to help him develop as a player. When the varsity struggled to a 4-19 record, Cicciari decided to promote several junior varsity players.

“We had a big problem with rebounding, and that is one thing that [Francis] has the natural ability to do,” Cicciari said.

Francis, who also leads Granada Hills in scoring with a 15.8 average, had to prove himself to Cicciari after getting cut in freshman team tryouts in 1996.

Francis, who has been playing basketball since he was 11, said the experience provided plenty of motivation.

“It just made me want to come out and show the coach that he made a mistake,” Francis said.

After honing his game in park leagues, Francis tried out and made the sophomore team the following year.

Yet, Francis seemed to lack confidence.

“When he was in 10th grade, whenever he made a mistake . . . every time up and down the floor, he was would look at me,” said Cicciari, who coaches all four boys’ teams at Granada Hills.

The coach-watching continued in Francis’ junior season and might have carried over to this season had Cicciari not intervened.

Before the season, Cicciari had one important directive for Francis: “Midwin, you’re not going to look at me this year.”

It became an inside joke on the team, but it has proven a difficult habit for Francis to break.

“When he’s not playing really well, he’ll give me a look,” Cicciari said. “That’s just the conscientious side of him.”

Still, the shy, quiet 17-year-old appears stoic on the court, regardless of the circumstances. He is a determined player who lets his performance do the talking.

“Even though he’s a mild kid, a shy kid, when he gets on the floor he gets pretty intense,” Cicciari said. “He really goes after the ball. It’s like two different kids. When he gets on the floor, sometimes he’s in another zone.”

Earlier in the season, Francis was in another time zone and missed nine games. He traveled with his father and family to St. Lucia to visit his mother, whom he hadn’t seen since he left the Caribbean island 11 years ago.

For Francis, who has kept in touch with his mother since he was 6 through weekly phone calls, it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“We really made an effort to not make a big deal about it,” Cicciari said. “I knew he felt bad about abandoning the team. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Leaving the team for three weeks bothered Francis, who worried about leaving his teammates and losing exposure with local college coaches.

“I finally came to the conclusion that if I’m going to make it as a college basketball player, whatever I missed in three weeks, I can’t let it hold me back,” he said.

“It just means I have to get out there and work twice as hard.”

Cicciari is convinced that Francis has the talent to make it at the next level.

“I think he’s going to surprise people in two years,” Cicciari said. “The only thing that is going to limit him is himself.”