Billy Francis is trying to be the next big name to come out of LCA. It's exactly why he came to Lafayette.
"I live with my mom my whole life, my first 16-years," he said.
Billy Francis Jr. grew up in the small town of Malvern Arkansas, population 10,000. A budding star, if he was going to get the interest of colelge scouts, Billy and his family thought it was time to change scernary.
"There is not a lot of exposure down there," Billy said. "It's a small town and not many people know us."
So Billy moved in with his dad in Lafayette. It's new scenery, new culture and a new team. Billy said he was always close to his dad, they enjoyed daily phone calls, and now his dad was finally watching him play.
"Every night I go on the court he is there in the front row with a big smile telling me good job, keep going, keep going," Billy said. "It makes me smile knowing he gets to watch me play before I go off somewhere else."
On the court things didn't go perfect. Billy joined a veteran team and it took time to carve out his role. But when he did, he began to ball.
"We had four starters who had been playing here since the ninth grade. It just took him awhile to gel with the other players," said head coach Errol Rogers. "When he did, he started playing better, and better, and was the MVP of the state championship game."
In the Division IV championship Billy scored 13 points, recording 7 rebounds as LCA won it's third-straight. But for Billy, it was his first.
"Winning three-in-a-row was never on my mind. It was about getting better and better every game," he said. "When we won one it was amazing and I said 'man this is amazing, I want to do it again."
Since joining LCA Billy has earned five scholarship offers.