Akeem Richmond 6'0 G

[South_Florida_Flip]

I think Belardo will prove his worth once he starts getting more minutes (this season and next season)

It would have to be this season because next season (barring injury *knock on wood*) we'd have Jones, Crater, Mercer, Howard, Dumars, Noriega, Leemow and any other potential recruit that Coach Heath may bring in should probably be seeing the floor before Belardo.

I won't take much stock in Belardo's shooting range because he had some points in garbage time against Louisville's bench players. Last night is what I would take stock in and it wasn't pretty. He was much to hesitant on both ends of the floor and that is not something that you overcome quickly with more playing time.

Leemow has the "upside" because he's a much better defender, he gets up the floor better, he isn't afraid to drive into the lane and distribute the ball (that pass between the 2 defenders to Jones last night was sweet), and has shown the ability to knock down the 3 in a close game.

[Velcro]

Putting too much faith in Noriega and Dumars to come in and be major contributors is a mistake, in my eyes. 

We did the same thing with Espinosa this year.  Freshmen are green.  They need time.  Belardo's time will be next year.  This year, the fact that he is getting PT helps him and the other frosh tremendously in future years.  Gilchrist is the only one of the bunch that SHOULD be getting lots of PT right now due to his immense talent.  The others need molding.  I expect Noriega and Dumars to need time too.

I like Leemow and Belardo, don't get me wrong.  But I think Belardo's game is going to be similar to DoJo... seriously.  Maybe not as great a scorer due to his strenght and size being a bit less than Jones, but the same slashing shooter type.  He has range and he likes mixing it up (or so I have seen in his highlight reels and the slop time in the UL game).

Leemow and Crater don't play SG... so he doesn't cut into minutes for Belardo.  Mercer on the other hand DOES impact that.  And having him healthy is the big question mark.  He's blown out his knee twice... which is what Howard did.  It took howard 3 years to get truly healthy and now he is finally showing his talent.

If Mercer is healthy, I'm not sure what happens.  Leemow I don't see leaving.  Will Belardo wait 2 years, for when we would likely have solidified recruiting, and thus possibly squeezed him out.

If Belardo does leave, it is because something happens on the recruiting front much bigger than Noriega and Dumars.... Just my opinion

[Vega]

Hey Vega since this is becoming a mishmash, any updates on our post players?

Well there is nothing new that I know of right now other then Dashonte Riley has added a few more teams to his list of suitors. It doesn't appear that USF is in good shape with him right now but I that is only how it appears to me. I will just continue to take a wait and see approach with him.

Quincy Hankins is the name to keep and eye on for now. He seems to be favoring Seton Hall a little more then the other teams that includes USF. However Seton Hall has an average coach who players might be on the verge of quitting. That shouldn't be very appealing to any recruit the Hall goes after.

[Vega]

Putting too much faith in Noriega and Dumars to come in and be major contributors is a mistake, in my eyes. 

We did the same thing with Espinosa this year.  Freshmen are green.  They need time.  .  But I think Belardo's game is going to be similar to DoJo... seriously.  Maybe not as great a scorer due to his strenght and size being a bit less than Jones, but the same slashing shooter type.  He has range and he likes mixing it up (or so I have seen in his highlight reels and the slop time in the UL game).

Leemow and Crater don't play SG... so he doesn't cut into minutes for Belardo. 

If Belardo does leave, it is because something happens on the recruiting front much bigger than Noriega and Dumars.... Just my opinion

I really like Espinosa's upside. If he develops a perimeter game to go along with his athletic ability I see a little Earl Clark's in is future.

All Dumars and Noriega have to be are threats with there outside shooting to free up the lane for one on one players like Jones, Gilchrist, and Crater. The one thing I like about them especially Dumars is they won't be afraid to look for and take there shots. So many freshmen have that deer in a headlight look in front of college crowds. I don't believe we will see that out of those two.

Something is going to happen with either Leemow or Belardo because why else would Heath be so aggressive recruiting these guards. It seems once or twice a week that a new guard prospect emerges with interest in South Florida and vice versa. We also are after Bledsoe as long as he keeps mentioning us. Make no mistake about when we get a commitment from one of these spring guards we're on we would still make room for a Eric Bledsoe if he wants to come here. Now that would be something BIG for our program.

Right now the fear that I'm starting to have is Dominique Jones turning pro after the season. I hope that isn't the reason why Heath is aggressively recruiting so many guards. I have to to tell you I think Jones might be the best SG in the Big East and one of the top 5 in the nation. I wouldn't even take Jodie Meeks over him or the great Stephon Curry.

[Velcro]

I wouldn't take anyone over DoJo, but i'm biased.  I don't think he is going pro yet. 

I also think we are recruiting guards because Stan likes depth and talented depth.  That isn't an indication of anyone leaving, just that stan has always had lots of guards on his teams.

[USF Bulls Football]

Vega, I always agree with you, but I do not see Jones going pro after this year. The future, thats another story, but not this year. My question, is that you have (for next year- thus no Verdejo) Howard, Crater, Mercer, Jones, Leemow, Belardo, Daniels, Noriega and Dumars (plus whoever else we can get). After watching the game last night, Leemow has a nice shot, talent, and some skill (while still green). I was very impressed, because he seems to be maturing each game and could turn into a nice player. People keep on talking about Belardo and especially Daniels, which quite honestly blows my mind. Daniels is a football player, and looks completely lost out there. Comparing Belardo to DJ is just silly IMHO. DoJo's first game last year was against Cleveland State, and I left the Sundome saying WOW. Belardo might be an OK backup in the future, but he doesnt have that "lightning in a bottle" that DoJo does.

[Held_AccountaBull]

i think jones will be returning for at least another year. i don't think he has reached his full potential yet

[Velcro]

Vega, I always agree with you, but I do not see Jones going pro after this year. The future, thats another story, but not this year. My question, is that you have (for next year- thus no Verdejo) Howard, Crater, Mercer, Jones, Leemow, Belardo, Daniels, Noriega and Dumars (plus whoever else we can get). After watching the game last night, Leemow has a nice shot, talent, and some skill (while still green). I was very impressed, because he seems to be maturing each game and could turn into a nice player. People keep on talking about Belardo and especially Daniels, which quite honestly blows my mind. Daniels is a football player, and looks completely lost out there. Comparing Belardo to DJ is just silly IMHO. DoJo's first game last year was against Cleveland State, and I left the Sundome saying WOW. Belardo might be an OK backup in the future, but he doesnt have that "lightning in a bottle" that DoJo does.

I was comparing style of player, not talent.  Nothing silly about that.  He is a shooting guard that likes to drive and use his body control to score.  That is DoJo, minus the superstar ability (so far).  He obviously isn't DoJo in that Jones is a superstar and has been since the moment he got here, but that doesn't mean Belardo won't be a great role player sub for us.  And he does have a nice shooting range too.  Jones' shot is better, as I hope Noriega and Dumars is... but having an experienced Belardo might be more valuable than Dumars next year.  Long term, i think Dumars/Noriega will probably be more valuable, but not their freshman year.

[USF Bulls Football]

My fault Velcro, that came across wrong. My only complaint is that after watching last night, Belardo looked completely lost. I understand he is still a frosh and has time to develop, but this isnt like college football where players generally bloom in there jr and sr years. Players are talented right out of HS, and Belardo just look akward last night. I think that Leemow does have much more potential. Leemow earned ALL of my respect last night when he out-rebounded one of the Depaul players (I believe it was one of their SF in the second half) who had a huge size advantage on him. He just jumped and ripped it away. Anyway, to quit the ramble, the only thing I found silly is people giving Leemow a hard time.

[Velcro]

Agreed, Leemow earned a ton of respect with his effort.  If all our players play with that fire, we will be in good shape.