USF Hoops article from Syracuse' Daily Orange

[TyBull]

Stranded in the South: Buried in the basement of the Big East, South Florida tries to top conference giants

Drew Stal

Posted: 2/13/07

When the South Florida men's basketball program knew it was switching from Conference USA to the Big East, it met the opportunity with optimism. With nearly two full seasons in the books, the Bulls hardly have anything to be proud of.

USF went 1-15 in conference play last year and is struggling at 3-8 this year. The transition may have pummeled its record, but it gave USF a chance to compete in arguably the best basketball conference in the country, as well as aid in recruiting.

Since the move, players around the nation are eager to play for USF and in the Big East. In the past two seasons, the Bulls have had six players transfer to the team. The most notable players are sophomore guard Jesus Verdejo from Arizona, junior center Kentrell Gransberry from Louisiana State and freshman guard Aaron Holmes from Florida State.

So far, many of the transfers have stepped up and played key roles already. Senior forward Melvin Buckley, a transfer from Purdue who redshirted the season before the change into the Big East, now leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game. Gransberry leads the team with 10.8 rebounds per game. Senior forward McHugh Mattis, a transfer from St. Petersburg (Fla.) College, helped lead the Bulls to a win over then-No. 21 Notre Dame last week, arguably the biggest win for the program this season.

Now playing in an elite basketball conference, USF can start recruiting talent more suitable for the conference compared to Conference USA. Assistant coach Frank Burnell believes just dropping the Big East name turns recruits eyes immediately.

"You're just able to get in so many different homes with the fact that you're playing in a league such as the Big East," Burnell said. "You can make an argument that this is the best basketball conference in the country. It allows you to get into the homes that maybe you weren't able to get into. Kids are going to want to play against the best."

Even the recruiting battle in Florida is easier. USF can now compete with the likes of Florida, Florida State and Miami.

"Now we're just competing against the same type of caliber in recruiting," assistant coach Greg Gary said. "Where as before in Conference USA, sometimes the SEC and the ACC are higher rated conferences and have more talent in those conferences, so from that standpoint it's more attractive for those higher-profile kids to play against the best."

With the increased recruiting success also comes the reality of competing against the proven powers of the Big East. Last season, the Bulls picked a bad time to start off in the Big East as the conference sent an NCAA-record eight teams to the 2006 NCAA Tournament. Senior guard Chris Capko, one of the few members of the team who's played in both Conference USA and the Big East, welcomed the challenge of playing at a more prestigious conference.

"Obviously we knew it was going to be different and a different level of competition than Conference USA," Capko said. "The Big East is so much more passionate about basketball than Conference USA, but it's not as if we were scared of them or anything like that. Obviously we were new stepping into a whole new league. It was a challenge that we all welcomed."

The Bulls indeed have had their share of troubles playing in the Big East. Gary said it may take time to find recruits willing to help build a program rather than bolt for a more established program. Yet the move to the Big East is one that no one regrets.

"Any team that had an opportunity to do that would take it," Capko said. "Right now we struggled last year, and we haven't had the best season this year, but I think down the road the move to the Big East will pay big dividends for our athletic department as a whole."

Those dividends may not have come yet, but the Bulls have set themselves up down the road with talented transfers and solid recruiting classes. Already USF has signed three-star recruit Dominique Jones from Lake Wales, Fla. With Big East-worthy recruits, the Bulls will be in the thick of things in years to come.

"Obviously we didn't win as many games as we would have liked," Capko said. "As far as being competitive, we did that last year; we were really competitive and lost a ton of close games. Definitely we feel confident about all the games we have. I don't see why the USF basketball team can't be a big-time player in this conference down the road next year and every year."

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© Copyright 2007 The Daily Orange

[flsportsfan83]

fair article

[Joe]

I've said it since USF has joined the Big East, basketball in the BE requires a lot of money and great facilities to put consistently good teams out.

With the conference as tough as it is (UConn, Syracuse are probably not making the big Dance) and the money that some of these schools put into their programs. USF is always going to have to maximize their talent, because the lions share of athletic money are going to be used in the football program.

Dominque Jones was a fantastic get, however, schools like Depaul are getting top players in the country.

I still doubt the long term viability of this new BE basketball conference, too many schools that have depended on basketball to be the figurehead of their sports programs.

[crambone]

Yeah...fair and balanced from my POV...

[flsportsfan83]

"When the South Florida men's basketball program knew it was switching from Conference USA to the Big East, it met the opportunity with optimism. With nearly two full seasons in the books, the Bulls hardly have anything to be proud of. "

Our fans with the green and gold shades would disagree

[Brad]

"When the South Florida men's basketball program knew it was switching from Conference USA to the Big East, it met the opportunity with optimism. With nearly two full seasons in the books, the Bulls hardly have anything to be proud of. "

Our fans with the green and gold shades would disagree

Maybe you should point them out...who are you talking about?  It would be interesting to see.  I think you are way off, and if it makes you feel good, than so be it I guess.  Or are you just being "funny" again?

I think some fans are proud of the wins over Top25 programs, but as a whole, I doubt there is one single "green and gold shade" wearer that would be proud of the program since it joined the Big East.  Much as many football fans are not proud of middle of the pack BE football finishes.  On a micro basis there are things to be proud of...macro - no.

[Triple B]

"When the South Florida men's basketball program knew it was switching from Conference USA to the Big East, it met the opportunity with optimism. With nearly two full seasons in the books, the Bulls hardly have anything to be proud of. "

Our fans with the green and gold shades would disagree

Even though the ones with the green and gold shades are you Darksiders, I'd think most of us realists do actually agree with that statement. Overall, the program hasn't been one to be proud of the last 3 1/2 years but Brad provided the nuts and bolts on that thought process.

Also interesting to note was another of the outsider's views:

Those dividends may not have come yet, but the Bulls have set themselves up down the road with talented transfers and solid recruiting classes. Already USF has signed three-star recruit Dominique Jones from Lake Wales, Fla. With Big East-worthy recruits, the Bulls will be in the thick of things in years to come.

[flsportsfan83]

a 3 star recuit is going to make us that much better?

[Guest Rueben_Horowitz]

Even though the ones with the green and gold shades are you Darksiders, I'd think most of us [highlight]realists [/highlight]do actually agree with that statement. Overall, the program hasn't been one to be proud of the last 3 1/2 years but Brad provided the nuts and bolts on that thought process.

Trip, the tag 'realists' is a registered trademark of the DarkSide. Please refrain from using it, you'll confuse people.

Please stick with 'Blind Loyalists' or 'The Allegiance of Infinite Patience' when describing your people.

BTW, who cares what some Eskimo in Syracuse has to say about our Bulls? The interesting articles will surface if USF beats SU...They'll call for Jimmy B's head.

Rueben ~ Realist.

[Ruger7mmmag]

Oh yeah.  Especially in basketball.  The five star guys more than likely leave early for the NBA draft whether they are legit NBA prospects or not (how many go to the draft bc of believing the hype from their agents and then don't do anything rather than stay an extra year or two?).  With these 3 star guys, their only hope in getting to the next level is to produce for a few years to show they are the real deal which often means they'll stay to be seniors!  When you get a bunch of guys who stay together then the chemistry allows them as a unit to play much better than teams who may have more highly touted recruits together for the first season.  

The article is right, just being in the Big East is going to be huge as guys transfer in along with grabbing new guys.