By JONATHAN FEIGEN

Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle

Rockets guard Steve Francis sat with a newly minted Rookie of the Year trophy before him. He had caught Elton Brand, the one player chosen ahead of him in the NBA draft last summer, to share the award with his friend and rival. His place as one of the NBA's top young talents had been made official.

Francis wanted more. To own the award outright would be nice, but he did not hunger for that. He was flattered to be considered a peer with Chicago's Brand and would not contend the award should have been his outright.

"It would be hard for me to say that," Francis said. "He also had a great season. He averaged a double double. There's not too many guys who come in their rookie season and average a double double. I was basically playing catch-up all season to the No. 1 pick.

"Anybody would tell you they would want to be the solo Rookie of the Year. But when you're going up against a guy who was the No. 1 pick it's going to be hard to edge him out. I think they definitely selected two of the guys who were the best rookies in the NBA."

Francis thought bigger. And he was not alone. Having been officially stamped one of the league's two best rookies, Francis set his sights on becoming one of the game's greatest players. Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, having called that a possibility even before

Francis' first season, seemed convinced all-time greatness was on its way.

"Today I can say Steve Francis is a very good NBA player," Tomjanovich said. "I also believe because of his athleticism and the skills that he possesses, he has a chance to be one of the best ever at his position.

"I believe he will accomplish that because of the kind of person that he is. He has a great heart. He's fearless. He's confident. But he's also very coachable. He has an open mind. He's willing to learn. He's willing to put in the work to get better.

"What makes him special is he wants to do it the right way. Steve knows that the true measure of a great player is that he makes his teammates better. That's what he wants to do."

With that, Tomjanovich read through a list of Francis' accomplishments. He cited Francis' averages of at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists -- an accomplishment reached by just six previous rookies, including all-time great guards Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson.

Hearing this, Francis said he felt scared. But he didn't sound the least bit timid about eventually being compared to the greatest players ever.

"I also feel I probably could do the same thing," Francis, 6-3, said. "Dedication, hard work, just wanting to be good are some things all those guys had. I think I have the same thing inside me."

Francis, 23, said to reach the next level, from best rookie guard to best guard, he would have to improve across the board, and especially defensively. His first year brought him maturity and understanding of the NBA game, his new position as a point guard and his own game. And he said he learned real confidence is earned on the court, rather than in bold proclamations.

"I think I'm more mature, more relaxed," he said. "I just feel that you can say whatever you want off the court, but on the court is where you have to show what your capabilities are and what you're about."

Tomjanovich echoed that improvement would come from overall development.

"I think he hit it right on the nose about defense," Tomjanovich said. "All young players have to grow in that area.

"What I've said all along is if Steve takes his outside shot -- I really have a lot of confidence in his shooting, maybe more than he has -- it opens everything up. He's got the explosiveness and quickness and jumping ability to get to the basket. But when they're all in there waiting for him, even his effectiveness is going to go down.

"It's amazing after the first year, you process so many things, I think there's a big jump. He was talking about feeling more mature, more comfortable. It's going to be a different game for him next year."

Should Francis become that sort of player, presuming Brand, a 6-8 forward, will continue to grow at that same pace, the days of comparisons are probably just beginning.

Between them, Brand and Francis drew almost all the rookie votes. Francis and Brand each received 58 first-place votes. Lamar Odom of the Clippers received three votes, and Andre Miller of the Cavaliers got two.

Francis and Brand had told the other he would win the award and then were among the first with whom they spoke after getting the news. Brand actually beat the phone call to Francis to tell him they both had won.

"He congratulated me, and I congratulated him," Brand said. "He said I should have got it, I said he should have got it. I have a part of it, a part of history. You can't be disappointed about winning Rookie of the Year. Even if it's co-winners, you can't be too disappointed about that.

"It's really an honor. Your whole season, you think about it pretty hard. Of course you're team-oriented, but it's always in the back of your mind."

Francis said he did expect himself and Brand to continue to be measured against one another.

"It will probably stick," he said. "We both played in the ACC. He played at Duke. I played at Maryland. He was the No. 1 pick. I was the No. 2 pick. We're co-Rookies of the Year. It won't hurt us to have that duel down over the years."