Matchup: USF (0-0) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, November 5
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TV: ESPN3 (Bernie Guenther, Mark Wise)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited (Jim Lighthall, Joey Johnston)
Follow: Listen | Watch | Live Stats | Twitter
TAMPA, NOV. 4, 2019 – USF men’s basketball is staying humble and hungry heading into the program’s most highly anticipated season in recent memory.
Head coach Brian Gregory is back for his third run with the Bulls, who return 12 players and four healthy starters from last season’s record-breaking squad. Excitement around the program has skyrocketed after USF set a school record with 24 wins in 2018-19 and captured the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) championship title.
“We’ve had a very good preseason, growing as a team in terms of guys starting to get a little more defined roles heading into this year. Our returning guys have taken on a little more ownership in terms of us taking the next step, which is a challenge for us,” Gregory said. “We’re doing some really good things. We’ve just got to continue to improve and use every day as a challenge in terms of being better than we were the day before.”
After posting the top win turnaround in the NCAA last season, USF is determined to test itself often on the way to AAC play with a tough nonconference schedule that begins 8 p.m. Tuesday at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. USF then hosts AAC foe Boston College (Sunday, noon) before it takes on seven programs that reached the postseason last year.
Notables matchups include home games against Wofford (Nov. 21), Furman (Dec. 2), Drexel (Dec. 15) and Florida Atlantic (Dec. 29). The Bulls will face No. 17/19 Utah State (Dec. 18) and Florida State (Dec. 21) in holiday tournaments after a meeting with Loyola Chicago (Nov. 25), a Final Four team two years ago, at the Cayman Islands Classic. Another possible opportunity for USF in the Cayman Islands is a clash with New Mexico State, which nearly defeated eventual Final Four participant Auburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“You want to put yourself in a position where heading into conference play, if you take care of things and you continue to develop, you’re talked about as a team that can make it to a postseason,” Gregory said. “Maybe years in advance of where we thought we’d be, that’s where we’re at right now.”
Credit a returning roster that includes two major conference award winners (Laquincy Rideau, Alexis Yetna), fellow preseason all-conference selection David Collins and much more talent that helped the Bulls finish last season with the program’s first postseason title since the 1990 Sun Belt tournament.
“We can’t forget where we were and how we got here, that’s the biggest thing,” Gregory said. “…Have we made great strides? Is there some excitement around the program? No question about it. Do we have really, really high-level guys that have embraced doing the work and changing it? Yeah, we do, but we’ve still got some steps to go. We’re at a point right now where the steps have to be made in wins and losses.”
Core Group Returns
One huge perk for the Bulls is the fact that they bring back key starters from last season, including AAC Defensive Player of the Year Laquincy Rideau. The senior guard from West Palm Beach, Fla., became the first player in The American to lead the league in both steals (101) and assists (189).
”You have an opportunity to have a good team when your leaders are also your hardest workers and guys that have bought in the most,” Gregory said. “Laquincy has definitely done that.”
While Gregory calls Rideau the “soul” of the team, David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) is the “heartbeat.” The junior guard joined Rideau on the preseason all-conference second team after leading the Bulls and ranking 12th in The American in scoring with 15.9 points per game as a sophomore.
Speaking of league leaders, reigning AAC Freshman of the Year Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) was set to return after topping The American stat sheet with 9.6 rebounds per game and pulling down a single-season league record 346 boards. Unfortunately, Yetna will miss the entire 2019-20 season due to a knee injury he suffered last week in practice.
Junior guard/forward Justin Brown (Atlanta) led the team with 65 three-pointers last season and knocked down six long-range buckets in USF’s 76-62 exhibition win over Saint Leo last week. Sophomore forward Michael Durr (Atlanta) posted a double-double in the regular season tune-up, showing he’s stepped up his game even more since registering the second-most rebounds (235) by a freshman in school history.
“He’s probably as improved a player as we have in our program,” Gregory said. “…He’s much stronger, much more physical, much more explosive.”
USF also knows it will get production from sophomore guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago), who dished out 65 assists and played in all 38 games as a freshman. Other returners who played in every game last season include senior forward Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and junior forward Mayan Kiir (Bradenton, Fla).
A Look at More Talent
Sophomore guard Rashun Williams (Arlington, Ga.) looks forward to showcasing hisplaymaking ability and he’s joined on the roster by numerous other up-and-coming Bulls.
Healthy redshirt freshman forward Madut Akec (Bradenton, Fla.) returned to action in USF’s exhibition game that marked the debut of redshirt sophomore guard Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami), an Oklahoma State transfer, along with talented true freshmen Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) and B.J. Mack (Charlotte, N.C.).
Chaplin, a guard, was named Gwinnett Daily Post Player of the Year out of Meadowcreek High School. Mack, a forward, was a prep Freshman All-American and became the only player in Peach Jam history to play in back-to-back title games as a member of the Team CP3 squad.
Roles haven’t been defined yet, but Gregory has a clear message for young Bulls this season.
“When we bring guys off the bench, it’s imperative that they not only play well, but are really disciplined playing the way we’re supposed to play,” Gregory said. “If we can do that, then they’ll give us a big lift.”
Bulls Bits
- AAC INFO: USF was picked to finish fifth in The American in the conference’s preseason poll after the Bulls won their most games (8) in league play since joining the AAC. USF was the only team in The American to have three players named preseason all-conference (Laquincy Rideau, David Collins, Alexis Yetna). The Bulls begin conference play at SMU on Jan. 1.
- 20-20: After posting the most victories in school history, the Bulls look to win 20 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever. Going 24-14 last season, USF won 14 more games than the 2017-18 season, which was the best win improvement in the NCAA.
- GREGORY FILE: In his program debut in 2017-18, head coach Brian Gregory led the Bulls to their first double-digit win season since 2013-14 before racking up a school-record 24 victories last season. Gregory needs 18 more victories to reach 300 in his career that includes stops at Dayton (2003-11) and Georgia Tech (2011-16). Gregory has led his teams to the postseason in seven of his first 15 seasons as a head coach.
- NOTABLES: Junior guard David Collins needs 144 points to become the 20th member of USF’s 1,000-point club… Junior guard/forward Justin Brown is 17 three-pointers away from moving into USF’s all-time top 10… Last season, senior guard LaquincyRideau was one of only three players in the NCAA with 100 steals and 100 assists.
About USF Men’s Basketball
The USF men’s basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State’s Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory owns nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.
USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
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For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
