GoUSFBulls.com Bulls' Tour of Canada

[Brad]

BULLS' FOREIGN TOUR OF CANADA WILL BE 'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME' EXPERIENCE

August 01, 2019

 

 

 

FOREIGN TOUR UPDATES: Be sure to follow USF men's basketball on Twitter @USFMBB for updates during its foreign tour of Canada that takes place Saturday through Friday, Aug. 9.
 

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, AUG. 1, 2019 – Four months after a postseason championship victory, record-breaking USF men's basketball is eager to face more competition and soak up the sights during its foreign tour of Canada that takes place Saturday through Friday, Aug. 9.

"It's a great opportunity for our guys, a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go to two great cities in Montreal and Quebec City," head coach Brian Gregory said. "We'll play four very good teams."

USF's first game since defeating DePaul in the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship is against the University of Quebec 2 p.m. Sunday at Meagher Arena in Montreal. Action continues Monday, Aug. 5 with the Bulls taking on Laval University in a 7 p.m. game at PEPS Arena in Quebec City.

"It's a long offseason, so every time we get to go out there and compete, we're just thankful for it," said forward Alexis Yetna, the 2019 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. "We're excited about playing in Canada."

USF will definitely be tested Wednesday, Aug. 7 during a 7 p.m. matchup with Carleton University at Place Bell Arena in Montreal. Carleton has won 14 national championships over the past 17 years and owns an all-time record of 44-31 against NCAA programs.

"Canadian basketball is very good," said Gregory, who went on a foreign tour of Canada during his tenure as Dayton's head coach (2003-11). "These guys are usually a little bit older. They are able to practice year-round and they're very, very well-coached."

The Bulls wrap up their four-game run Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. against McGill University back at Montreal's Place Bell Arena.

"We're just really hoping to go up there and play the best we can," said junior guard/forward Justin Brown of the Bulls, who get 10 summer practices to prepare for the foreign tour. "We've got the same team coming back next year with a few extra pieces."

This upcoming season, USF returns all five starters, 92.4 percent of its scoring and 94.6 percent of its rebounding totals from the 2018-19 squad that hoisted the program's first postseason championship trophy since 1990.

"Now we've got a core team," said Yetna, who started 34 games last season. "We just keep going forward and it feels good to see the progress from a year to another. We're very excited about having a lot of the team coming back."

USF has been deemed a team on rise by numerous college basketball experts after completing the top turnaround in the NCAA last season with a school record 24 victories, 14 more than the Bulls' total in 2017-18.

"I think we can definitely take this to the next level," said star junior guard David Collins, the 2019 College Basketball Invitational's Most Valuable Player. "We've just got to take it a day at a time, focus on getting better every day and all those things are going to come."

Up-and-Coming Bulls Will Get Valuable Minutes
Most of USF's returning starters will be in action during the foreign tour, but expect to see the Bulls' up-and-coming talent on the court often.

During USF's press conference this week, Gregory mentioned the staff's plans to give 20-plus minutes each game to players like redshirt sophomore guard Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami), redshirt freshman forward Madut Akec(Bradenton, Fla.), junior forward Mayan Kiir (Bradenton, Fla.), senior forward Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and sophomore guard Rashun Williams(Arlington, Ga.).

"It's a great opportunity for our guys, especially some of the guys we're going to be counting on that maybe didn't log in as many minutes, or different things like that," Gregory said.

Rideau Update
One standout who won't be getting playing time during the foreign tour is Laquincy Rideau.

Rest of Story
 

[Basketball Jones]

Team flying out of Orlando because they couldn't get a direct flight out of Tampa. Did the same thing for the Jamaica tournament last year. 

[bcgruber]

Any TV or radio for these

[NewEnglandBull]

58 minutes ago, bcgruber said:

Any TV or radio for these

I looked all over and found nothing 

[Brad]

It was written in the story to follow @USFMBB on twitter for updates and then this tweeted today.

Sounds like we're going to reading play by play...kind of like the old chat room days

[Triple B]

Quote

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (usfmbb) for updates

[Bull Nut]

On 8/1/2019 at 8:48 PM, Brad said:

 

At first glance the green Maple leaf looked like something else...

[Brad]

My understanding is there may not even be live stats....

[NewEnglandBull]

Can’t one of the ball boys just throw up a webcam for us? Is there some copyright against doing that? 

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

Go BasketBulls!  

The USF 2019/2020 sports season has now officially arrived!

Halleluia, praise the good Lord!