USF Basketball: Tampa Bay Home For Hoops
If you like college basketball, the University of South Florida’s on-campus Yuengling Center is the place to be this season. The USF women’s and men’s basketball programs — “Tampa Bay’s Home for Hoops’’ — have some special treats ahead for area fans.
The USF women, coming off an American Conference Tournament championship and the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance of Coach Jose Fernandez’s 25-season tenure, will play one of the nation’s most rigorous non-conference schedules. That includes home games against the UConn Huskies (Tuesday, Dec. 2) and the South Carolina Gamecocks (Thursday, Dec. 18), the two teams that played in last season’s national championship game.
The Bulls will also host the Duke Blue Devils (Thursday, Nov. 20), a region finalist last season, while traveling to face the UCLA Bruins, a Final Four team, in a Las Vegas tournament.
“What do they say? To be the best, you’ve got to play the best?’’ Fernandez says. “That’s what we’ve always believed in. It’s the kind of schedule that should get the fans excited and I know our players are looking forward to it. The whole idea is to get this team toughened up and playing its best basketball in March (during the postseason).’’
The Bulls will be paced by a pair of veterans, 5-foot-11 forward Carla Brito and 6-2 forward L’or Mputu. But USF’s roster has been bolstered by four impact transfers, including 5-10 guard Katie Davidson (IU-Indianapolis) and 5-7 guard Edyn Battle (Jacksonville), both first-team all-conference performers who already have surpassed the 1,000-point career mark.
Meanwhile, the USF men have an energetic new head coach in Bryan Hodgson, a former Alabama assistant who had a two-season 45-28 mark at Arkansas State.
“We’re going to play extremely fast,’’ Hodgson said. “Offensively, we want to play with pace and space. On the defensive end, we want to shrink and disrupt. That’s who we are.
“I’d say if you live in the Tampa Bay area and you love ball, you need to come check us out. Give us a chance to earn your fandom. I think we’ll play an entertaining brand of basketball that’s probably the most similar to the NBA that you’re going to get from a college standpoint.’’
The Bulls return high-flying sophomore guard CJ Brown, who was selected to last season’s American Conference All-Freshman Team. Among the 13 new players are two of Hodgson’s stars at Arkansas State — 6-10 senior forward Izaiyah Nelson and 6-5 senior guard Joseph Pinion — along with 6-9, 200-pound senior center Daimion Collins, a former five-star high-school prospect who played at Kentucky and LSU.
“It’s going to be a high-tempo, fast-paced kind of game,’’ Collins said. “Just a lot of fun basketball.’’
Hodgson said he already feels at home.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the country,’’ Hodgson said. “It’s a great job, a great fan base and a great city. Now we’ve got to do our part and deliver by winning basketball games. I promise you we’re going to work every day and make sure we’re doing just that.’’
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USF Volleyball Coach, Jolene Shepardson, on a Full Court, Full House, and Full Heart
Presented by University of South Florida