Trojan News

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Shelbyville’s France Signs    

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Shelbyville’s France Signs
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Portions of the story were taken from Chad Tracy’s story in the Shelbyville Times-Gazette

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Trevecca Nazarene University men’s basketball coach Sam Harris has signed his first recruit for the 2008-2009 season. Michael France, a 6’1” guard from Shelbyville Central High School, joins the Trojans after a stellar career for the Eagles. The four-year letter winner helped lead the team to a 105-30 record during his career.

 

"I'm truly excited to have a scholarship at Trevecca," France said. "It was important for me to be close to home. The campus is beautiful, and I think Trevecca is a good fit for me."

 

France, the son of Michael Sr. and Dorla France, was named All-District 8-AAA during his junior and senior seasons and made All-Region 4-AAA as a senior. He made the Land-Air All-Tournament team in Greeneville and was named the Most Valuable Player of the HoopFest game in Benton, Ky.

 

Trevecca head coach Sam Harris, who saw France during the 2007 Region 4-AAA tournament at Siegel and later at the TACA East-West All-Star Weekend at Trevecca, is excited to have him aboard. France put on a show for his future coach as he took second place in the Tennessee Athletic Coaches East-West All-Start dunk contest last month at TNU.

 

"Michael is a first-class young man, and he'll be a excellent fit on the hill. I think he is going to be a really good player for us," said Harris, who has led the Trojans to the NAIA National Tournament Sweet 16 three times in the last four years. "It takes freshmen a little time to adjust, but we're looking for kids that have athletic ability and basketball skill. He has both and he's only going to get better every year on the parquet at Moore Gym."

 

Harris expects that combination of athleticism and skill to help his squad sooner rather than later.

 

"I'd say in the last five or six years, Shelbyville has had some of the best guards around and there is no doubt about that," he said. "We knew we needed an athletic guard -- someone who has good skill right now that we can develop. Most of the players in our league are really borderline Division I players and I really think Michael fits into that category."

 

"I think Michael's one who has come so far," Thomas said. "When he first got here he was so small and thin, but you could tell he had a great desire to play. He's always worked hard, especially on his ball handling and leaping ability, and he just hung in there."

 

According to his high school coach, France's development while at Central can be attributed to his talented teammates as well as his hard-working mentality. "He defended Barry Stewart, now at Mississippi State, every day (in practice) as a sophomore," Thomas said. "He looked up to Barry and wanted to play the game like him. He really put his mind to try and do that to the best of his ability.

 

"Trevecca is getting a good athlete that can slash and is quick off the dribble. He is exactly what they were looking for. In two years, they’ll have a tremendous player on their hands."

 

France, who plans on majoring in accounting, is the first Trevecca men’s basketball signee announced for next year’s class.

 

As he prepares to make the transition to collegiate basketball, the graduating senior credits Thomas for his improvement throughout his high school career.

 

"The experience at Shelbyville was the best four years of my life and I'm really going to miss it, but it's time for me to go and move on in my life," France said. "(Coach Thomas) pushed us all and he may have pushed me a little more, but it made me better. I always wanted to work on my own game to get better."