SANFORD, Fla—
When Joe French has an open shot, he does not miss.
“Butter,” French’s trainer Mark Jones says as French makes another three pointer. During a workout in an empty Sanford gym, French’s release is virtually the same every time and is the product of years of hard work.
“A lot of people only look at him as a shooter, but he can score the basketball in multiple ways,” Jones says.
Jones is a former forward for UCF and played for the Orlando Magic during the 2004-05 season. He’s been training French since he was in eighth grade.
“Every championship program and team is looking for shooters, guys that can put the ball in the basket,” Jones says.
In high school French made the 4A State Championship game with The Master’s Academy in Oviedo, Fl. As a freshman last season at Bethune-Cookman he led his conference in three point shooting percentage (.435).
“I got an opportunity to show what I could do,” French says. “I’m just grateful for that.”
Since high school French has grown to 6’5 180 lbs, but most scouts would still say he lacks the traditional division 1 size and athleticism. What he might lack there he makes up for with skill.
“As the game continues to change towards more skill I think it helps me out,” French says. “Obviously with the three pointer becoming a must have for teams it makes me more valuable to every team.”
Watch him shoot for five minutes it’s pretty clear what he can bring to the basketball court. However right now he’s being blocked by an invisible defender.
“All I can do is pray and hope,” French says.
Playing during a pandemic
When the Coronavirus pandemic hit last March, French and his Bethune-Cookman teammates were in Norfolk, Va for the conference tournament.
“We’re in the meeting room in the hotel getting ready to get on the bus and go to the game, and our coach comes in and says he just got off the phone with the conference president who says the season is cancelled immediately,” French remembers.
It was Deja Vu all over again when Bethune-Cookman cancelled all sports for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year on October 27th.
“It was actually the same day we were supposed to start practice,” French remembers. “So yeah it was pretty disappointing.”
With no season at Bethune-Cookman, French decided to explore his transfer options. He decided on FAU in nearby Boca Raton.
“I had a great feel about the coaching staff,” French says. “Out of all the schools recruiting me, my family and I had the best connection with FAU.”
He wasn’t promised that he’d be able to play right away, but that was the hope. In December he enrolled for the spring semester, the same month that the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for all division 1 transfers if they met a list of criteria. French was technically a mid-year transfer so his waiver was denied.
“Given the unique circumstances of the program shutting down,” French’s father, John French says. “I thought the NCAA would look at this and say it’s truly an outlier.”
FAU filed two appeals on Joe’s behalf. One was granted making him eligible for the Fall of 2021 instead of making him sit out a full calendar year. However immediate eligibility was denied again. French's family plans to pursue their legal options next.
“I’m 63, a year is a long time to wait,” John French says about not being able to watch his son play. “I’m grieving all over again.”
Social media support
Since French's waiver was denied French has received support on social media from some of college basketball's biggest names. There was national college basketball reporters like Jeff Goodman.
Even ESPN play-by-play personality Dick Vitale.
“I was like oh wow, this is Dickie V,” French says about seeing a tweet Vitale tagged him in. “I’ve been watching him since I was a kid. So it was pretty cool to have an interaction with him.”
As much as French wants to play now he doesn’t want to make this about blaming the NCAA. He is able to practice with FAU and plans to make the most of the time.
“I think this is a character building time for me,” French says. “I believe this might be a blessing in disguise.”