| HTH Blog Entry #5 | Oct. 20 at 4:30 p.m. |
by Garrett Walvoord |
TAMPA - Change, change and more change. That could be the theme for the University of South Florida men's basketball program.
The first major change was on April 3, 2007, when USF hired Stan Heath, making him the eighth head coach in men's basketball history.
Heath brings 20 years of coaching experience (seven head/13 assistant) into his second season at USF. The Michigan native has helped lead nine teams to the NCAA tournament during his career.
Already an assistant coach by the age 23, Heath has been involved with four teams that have ascended to the NCAA's “Final Four.” In 1993, Heath was an assistant at Wayne State in Detroit when the Tartars won a school record 25 games and finished in the Division II Final Four. He was promoted to associate head coach the following season, still a year shy of his 30th birthday.
After a two-year stint at Bowling Green State University in neighboring Ohio, Stan returned to the “Great Lakes State” in 1996. Tom Izzo hired Heath as an assistant at Michigan State, and was part of the Spartans' greatest postseason runs in program history. Beginning in 1999, MSU advanced to three consecutive Final Fours, winning the 2000 National Championship against the Florida Gators.
Heath would accept his first head coaching position at Kent State in 2001, fashioning immediate success. KSU won the MAC regular season championship, and sprinted past Okalahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament. That trip to the Elite Eight caught the eye of the Arkansas Razorbacks, who hired Heath before the '02-'03 season.
Five years in Fayettville produced two trips to the NCAA Tournament, and an appearance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship Game. The Razorbacks ended a five-year hiatus (2001) from the NCAA Tournament, making back-to-back trips in 2006 and 2007.
Season two at USF will provide familiar challenges and change for Coach Heath and his staff. Five players return from last year's team, including four starters, but an influx of new players will help shape the team. The Bulls are entering their fourth season in the BIG EAST and even more changes are on the horizon.
In May of 2008, Pam and Les Muma donated $3 million as the lead gift for the construction of a Basketball Center for the men's and women's programs.
To get a better idea of what the men's basketball team will look like this season, we went to the source. Enjoy the interview with Coach Heath as he sits in another change, the newly renovated basketball offices in the Sun Dome. Expect more inside access as USF's season progresses.
