Bulls to Play in 2019 Cayman Islands Classic

TAMPA, MAY 7, 2019 – The USF men’s basketball team is one of eight teams selected to play in the 2019 Cayman Islands Classic Nov. 25-27 in George Town, Grand Cayman.

The tournament also features New Mexico State, Old Dominion, Loyola of Chicago, Nebraska, Colorado State, George Mason and Washington State. All games will be played at John Gray Gymnasium, just minutes away from world famous Seven Mile Beach.

“We’re excited that our tournament director Maury Hanks has put together another strong competitive tournament, featuring several teams that college basketball fans will be hearing about during the upcoming season,” said Cayman Sports chief executive officer Joe Wright. “We’re happy that the Cayman Islands Classic is gaining a strong reputation. Coaches who have played here continue to talk about the great Cayman Islands hospitality and how well organized our three-day event has been.”

USF enters the 2019-20 season with the potential to return all five starters from a team that won the College Basketball Insider (CBI) championship and set a single-season school record with 24 wins. In addition, USF featured the top turnaround in the NCAA by winning 14 more games than it did over the course of the 2017-18 season.

Guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after pacing the league with 2.9 steals per game. Rideau registered 101 steals and finished the year with the fourth-most of any player in the NCAA and the most single-season steals in conference history. He also led the league with 5.4 assists per game and became the first player in league history to pace The American in both steals in assists. Additionally, Rideau was one of only three players in the NCAA with 100 assists and 100 steals. He also scored 13.4 points per game and was selected to the All-AAC Third Team. Rideau entered his name into the NBA Draft last month and has until May 29th to withdraw and return to the Bulls.

Forward Alexis Yetna (Paris) was tabbed the 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after finishing the season tops in the league in rebounding with 9.6 per game and pulled down a single-season league record 346. Yetna also added 12.3 points per game and paced the conference with 15 double-doubles.

Fellow guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) was also tabbed All-AAC Third Team after pacing USF and ranking 12th in The American in scoring with 15.9 points per game. Collins poured in 587 points last season to finish with the ninth-most points scored in a single season in league history. He also made 206 free throws to record the second-most in conference history. In addition, Collins was fourth in The American with 2.1 steals per game.

“One of the things you look for in a holiday tournament is not only the level of competition, but having the opportunity to bring your players to a place they will remember for the rest of their lives,” USF head coach Brian Gregory said. “It also gives us an opportunity to play in front of our fans because the Cayman Islands are a location that people would love to visit, so I think this tournament checks all those boxes. We need to play games like these against teams like these to build our non-conference NET ranking, so I think you look for all those things when you play in a tournament like this, and the Cayman Islands Classic provides them all.”

Overall, USF has the potential to return 92.4 percent of its scoring, 94.6 percent of its rebounding, 94.6 percent of its assists, 95.1 percent of its steals and 90.3 percent of its minutes.

Ticket information will be announced later this summer.

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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 10^th 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 brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14.

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 and appeared in the NIT eight times.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.