Bulls headline Katz's injury report

[Brad]

ESPN

Updated: Oct. 4, 2006

Injury, suspension updates from around the land

By Andy Katz

ESPN.com

Just be patient with South Florida for a few more months. If you want to judge the Bulls this season, have at them once they get into Big East play, because that's when this team will become whole again.

As teams across America get ready for the official start of practice on Oct. 13, few are dealing with as many injuries as South Florida. The Bulls were so beat up in August that they could dress only six players on their summer tour of Italy.

"We didn't get as much out of it," said South Florida coach Robert McCullum, who guided the Bulls to a 1-15 inaugural season in the Big East, 7-22 overall.

He said had he known about the lack of healthy bodies sooner, he would have canceled the trip.

Chris Howard, a 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman guard, tore his knee twice last season. McCullum is convinced that Howard would have been a Big East all-freshman team member. Now, since he tore the left knee again in June, Howard is questionable for this season until at least December or January, depending on his recovery.

Redshirt freshman forward Zaronn Cann played sparingly last season (a total of 28 minutes) and was shut down for knee surgery on Feb. 1. McCullum said Cann wasn't ready to go on the Italy trip. The hope is that he'll be OK to go for the start of the season.

Oh, and last month, the Bulls lost Dante Curry, a 6-4 freshman guard, for the season with a torn Achilles.

When practice starts next week, South Florida will have 10 players available, but only eight are eligible to play for the first semester (with Cann's health pending). Two of the top players on the roster are Arizona transfer Jesus Verdejo and LSU transfer Kentrell Gransberry, both of whom are expected to compete for a starting position when they become eligible at semester's end, in time for the Duel in the Desert, a three-game round-robin tournament at UNLV.

The schedule before those two become eligible isn't as daunting -- with reason. Still, there are plenty of potential pitfalls with games against Richmond at home and a dangerous road swing to provisional D-I member Winston-Salem State (has a Big East school ever gone to a provisional D-I member for a road game?) and East Carolina before playing Norfolk State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UNLV in Las Vegas.

McCullum said he is hopeful Howard will be back by a game at UAB on Dec. 27 (the Bulls play host to Missouri State after the UNLV tournament). A game with Wake Forest in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum, site of next March's ACC tournament, looms on Dec. 29 before a home game against Bethune-Cookman. Reality starts at Connecticut on Jan. 2.

The Bulls, who are attempting the long climb out of the Big East cellar, will do it without Solomon Jones, who was one of the top under-the-radar big men in the country last season. Jones, who went in the second round of the NBA draft to Atlanta, won't be replaced easily.

"We'll need to survive early," McCullum said of the first two months of the season. "The biggest challenge for us in the Big East was not having a healthy squad. If we were, we would have won more games."

Replacing Jones will be up to Gransberry, sophomore Aris Williams and senior Melvyn Richardson, who was one of the surprise stars on the foreign tour. The committee of three, which really is two until Gransberry gets eligible, will have to find a way to come up with Jones-like numbers (13.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game).

"We've got enough games early for our guys to play together before the Big East," McCullum said. "We'll rely on freshmen, kind of like Marquette did."

McCullum is a realist and knows his freshmen might not have the impact the Golden Eagles' crew did a year ago. For now, he starts each practice with two thoughts, knowing he must get his team ready with limited options for a nonconference schedule while planning for his full squad come the start of Big East play.

South Florida is not alone in trying to manage injury and/or suspension woes. Here are the rest of the major updates leading into the start of practice:

Rest of Story

[Herman_Momart]

ESPN

The schedule before those two become eligible isn't as daunting -- with reason. Still, there are plenty of potential pitfalls with games against Richmond at home and a dangerous road swing to provisional D-I member Winston-Salem State (has a Big East school ever gone to a provisional D-I member for a road game?) and East Carolina before playing Norfolk State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UNLV in Las Vegas.

Rest of Story

I sense sarcasm (realize this is a big time writer and see what he says about the provisional D1 team we play on the road.  Completely UNHEARD of by a big east school).  

"We'll need to survive early," McCullum said of the first two months of the season. "The biggest challenge for us in the Big East was not having a healthy squad. If we were, we would have won more games."

At least YOU believe you would have won more games Robert.  

"We've got enough games early for our guys to play together before the Big East," McCullum said. "We'll rely on freshmen, kind of like Marquette did."

McCullum is a realist and knows his freshmen might not have the impact the Golden Eagles' crew did a year ago. For now, he starts each practice with two thoughts, knowing he must get his team ready with limited options for a nonconference schedule while planning for his full squad come the start of Big East play.

Looks like the foundation laying for the excuses before the season for our out of conference losses to high school teams.  

Before you jump all over me and question my fan worthiness..ask yourself this question.  Will you be at the games?  I know I will.  Just as excited as anyone for the first tip-off.  It takes bad play by unprepared, poor coached, and light rosters that are going to bring my excitement level down.  And i cant even predict the future.  

[smazza]

it will be another long season

[Kyle]

Come on...considering the number of games they were in till the end last year with half a team, it's a safe assumption to say they'd have won at least a couple of them if they had ANYONE on the bench.

[bulls96go]

ho-hum

[BullDoug]

I predict a minimum of a 100% conference improvement.