Francois Caps Off Impressive Career at Malden

In most cases, being a prolific pickpocket will earn you a free ride in the back of police cruiser and a few moments of face time with a district court judge.

On the basketball court however, a predilection towards grand larceny is a highly sought after attribute. The merits of taking the ball away from the other guy are fairly obvious, and should be readily apparent to even the most casual of basketball fans.

Over the past two seasons, rarely has an opposing ball handler known the luxury of feeling secure when facing the Malden High basketball team. Not during the 2010-2011 season.

Not when Tedy Francois was on the floor.

After coming off the bench as an effective role player his junior year, helping the Golden Tornadoes earn a trip to the MIAA Div. 1 North Sectionals, Francois stepped up his game and stepped into the leadership vacuum created after Malden graduated a quartet of key seniors following the 2009-2010 campaign.

Despite the Golden Tornadoes struggling to a 7-13 mark and being blanked in league play (0-8), Francois came into his own as a basketball player in 2010-11, and became the undisputed heart and soul of the MHS basketball team.

After showing flashes of banditry as a junior, logging 13 steals coming off the bench, the senior guard’s thievery exploded his final year. Francois became Malden High’s all-time single-season steals leader, as the four-year varsity football player collected an incredible 69 steals—18 more than the previous mark, held by 2010 MHS grad Nate Freni.

As affable and polite off the court as he is dangerous when on it, the 2010-11 Greater Boston League All-Star remained humble about his record-breaking achievement.

“Once you told me I was close (several games before), I was like, ‘Wow,’” he said, following the final game of his high school career, a 59-47 win over Boston Globe top-20 squad Winthrop on senior night at the Finn Gym. “I’m just honored to take (the record).”

Adding to the moment was the fact that the player who held the record previously was Freni, a close friend and former teammate.

“The guy who held the record before was a good friend of mine,” said Francois of the 2010 MHS grad. “I kind of teased him about it.”

In addition to his ability to appropriate the basketball, Francois also blossomed into a legitimate scorer during his senior year, not to mention a reliable clutch performer. Collecting a total of 249 points over the course of the year, Francois led the Golden Tornadoes in scoring, steals, assists and free throws made.

The two-sport star also became the first MHS player to lead the team in both scoring and assists in a game on more than 20 occasions, and just the second player to collect more than 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists in a single year.

For all his achievements on the basketball court, he may have never even went out for the team had it not been for the prodding of MHS head coach Don Nally. If not for the astute intervention of the coach who led the Golden Tornadoes to its best season in school history back in 2008-2009,  when Malden went 17-2, perhaps the greatest defensive player in the history of Malden High School may have just stuck with football.

“He influenced me to play,” said Francois of Nally’s impact on his decision. “I just started playing (basketball) my junior year. Coach Nally asked me to come out for the team, and I was like, ‘All right.’”

And as they say, the rest is history.

Not that sticking with football would have been a mistake, as Francois was a star receiver and safety, enjoying a fine four-year career on the gridiron.

Not surprisingly, when asked about his best high school memory from the fields of play, the graduating senior was split between the two sports he excelled at for MHS.

“Either the game against Chelmsford, or during my football season,” said Francois. “Against Somerville, when I had eight catches and two touchdowns.”

Francois hit a buzzer-beating game winning basket against Chelmsford on Feb. 21, sealing a 62-61 win, and collecting 138 receiving yards last October in a 21-0 whitewashing of the Highlanders at MacDonald Stadium.

For a player who was known as a highly-coachable relentless hard-worker during his time at Malden High and showed constant improvement from day one until the end, Francois closed the curtain on his high school career in appropriate fashion: the guard netted 21 points against the Vikings in the season finale, the highest total of his career.