Francis: McDonalds POY

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Torin Francis, a highly skilled 6-10, 220-pound forward from Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, was named the McDonald's Player of the Year. Players are selected on academics and athletics. Francis is very skilled in both areas. "It's a great honor," said Francis. "It's always nice to be recognized for your hard work."

Francis beat out a lot of great players who excelled on the court and in the classroom. But Francis has always worked hard. He will fit nicely into the offensive style of Mike Brey's Notre Dame team next season. Francis signed with the Irish last Fall.

"They had a great season," said Francis, who spoke to us at Media Day for the McDonald's All American game. "I was very excited for them. I thought they were going to beat Duke. If we had beaten Duke, we could have gone to the Final Four."

Francis said he looks forward to help replace the lost skills and inside threat of Ryan Humphrey and Harold Swanagan. "It's going to be very hard to replace those two players," Francis said. "But I am going to try and come in and help out right away. With Rick Cornett we should have a chance to do that."

Francis will be one of 20 players on the floor tomorrow night in the McDonald's All American game to be played at 8 PM ET in Madison Square Garden. Francis plays on a loaded East team. "We have a lot of great players on the front line," Francis said. "They are all tough players. It's a challenge to play them and compete with them in practice.

"I have never been to Madison Square Garden," Francis continued. "It's going to be fun to play against the best players in the country."

After Francis plays against the best players in the country, he will head to Notre Dame early. "I want to get started on classes and get into the weight room there," Francis said. "I have to talk things over with my family before I do that."