After Tampa, USF opens the regular season vs. SMU on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Sun Dome. It will mark the start of the 38th season of USF basketball. Monday's game vs. Tampa can also be heard on WBUL 1620 AM, USF's student radio station. Friday's regular season opener can be seen on GoUSFBulls.com and heard on WHNZ 1250 AM. Live stats and a live blog will also be available Friday.

Tampa Game Notes (PDF) 

SETTING THE SCENE
DATE:  Nov. 10, 2008
TIP-OFF:  7 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Tampa, Fla. - Sun Dome (10,411)
TELEVISION: None
WEBCAST: GoUSFBulls.com
RADIO: WBUL 1620 AM, USF's student radio station, will carry Monday's game versus Tampa. Jim Louk will handle the play-by-play.
USF's LAST TIME OUT:  Defeated West Florida, 80-41, in first exhibition of the year.
UT's LAST TIME OUT:  First exhibition game of the year.
SERIES HISTORY:  Regular season series tied 2-2.
LAST MEETING: USF 71, Tampa 54 (Jan. 23, 1989)
WEBSITE:  GoUSFBulls.com
WEBSITE:  TampaSpartans.com
TICKETS: 1-800-GoBulls

YEAR TWO OF THE HEATH ERA IS UNDERWAY
 The 2008-09 USF season marks the start of head coach Stan Heath's second season at the helm. He is the eighth head coach in the 38-year history of the program.

FOUR STARTERS RETURN
 The Bulls return four starters from last year's squad including All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection and All-Rookie team pick sophomore guard Dominique Jones. Jones shattered the USF freshman scoring record last season with 531 points, good for 17.1 points per game. Other starters returning include senior guard Jesus Verdejo, senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi and junior guard Chris Howard. Also joining the Bulls at the conclusion of the first semester is Georgia transfer, junior guard Mike Mercer, and Maryland transfer, freshman forward/center Augustus Gilchrist. Both players will miss the first six regular season games of the season, becoming eligible for the Dec. 14 game vs. Niagara.

BULLS ROMP OVER WEST FLORIDA   
 With a bang, a very big bang! That is how the 2008-09 season started for the USF men's basketball team. The supplier of the bang was All-BIG EAST sophomore guard Dominique Jones who threw down an emphatic one-handed monster jam for the first points of the game and season.
 And year two of the Stan Heath era is underway as the Bulls downed the University of West Florida, 80-41, in the opening exhibition game of the season Tuesday night at the Sun Dome.
 Nine Bulls played as every healthy player saw the court, including new walk-on, junior guard Ryan Kardok. In addition to Eladio Espinosa, who started, freshmen guards Justin Leemow and Gaby Belardo also made their USF debuts.
 Jones ended with a game-high 26 points, going 10-15 from the field. He connected on 3-7 3-pointers and also had a game-high nine assists and seven rebounds.
 Senior Jesus Verdejo finished the night with 14 points and Espinosa was also in double figures with 11 points, including three thunderous dunks. Senior forward Mobolaji Ajayi led the Bulls with nine rebounds to go along with eight points. Junior guard Chris Howard had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

GILCHRIST GRANTED WAIVER
 The NCAA has granted a waiver request for USF basketball player Augustus Gilchrist that will allow him to be eligible for competition after the fall semester of the 2008-09 academic year. Gilchrist will be eligible to begin competition as a freshman on Dec. 14 when USF hosts Niagara at the Sun Dome.  The 6-10 forward/center transferred to USF from Maryland during the Summer of 2008. USF will have played six non-conference games when Giilchrist becomes eligible.

UP NEXT: ABOUT SMU
 The Bulls open the regular season at home against Conference USA opponent SMU on Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. It is the first game of a two-game, home-and-home series between the schools with USF visiting SMU next year. SMU finished 10-20 last year and 4-12 in league play, 11th out of 12 teams. The Mustangs return two starters from last year's squad, six other returnees and welcome six newcomers. Sophomore's Papa Dia (6-9, 250, F, 9.7 pts, 6.5 rebs, C-USA All-Freshman Team) and Ryan Harp (6-4, 180, G, 4.4 pts, 3.4 rebs, 1.7 asts) are the two returning starters. SMU is coached by former North Carolina standout Matt Doherty. Doherty is in his third season at SMU and has a two-year mark of 24-37. He is 114-108 in seven years as a head coach which included stops at Notre Dame, North Carolina and Florida Atlantic.

RIVALS.COM RANKS MIKE MERCER THE NO. 5 IMPACT TRANSFER
 Rivals.com recently announced its top 10 transfers for the upcoming season and USF's Mike Mercer was ranked fifth. Mercer averaged 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 51 career games for Georgia. He was averaging 13.6 points per game as a sophomore before being sidelined with a right ACL injury. Mercer will miss both exhibition games and the first six regular season games, becoming eligible for the Dec. 14 Niagara game.

FIRST FOUR HOME GAMES CAN BE SEEN ON GOUSFBULLS.COM
 The first four home games this seen are not televised but can be seen on GoUSFBulls.com.

RECORD SEVEN BIG EAST TEAMS RANKED IN ESPN/USA TODAY PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
 The BIG EAST has seven teams ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll and the Associated Press poll. The seven ranked teams are the most ever for one conference in the Coaches' poll, besting the previous record of five.

WALK-ON ADDED TO ROSTER
 Junior college transfer Ryan Kardok has been added to the 2008-09 roster as a walk-on. Kardok spent two years playing at Broward Community College. He attended Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where he averaged 17 points and six assists per game as a senior.

BULLS PICKED TO FINISH 16TH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
 The Bulls have been picked to finish 16th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' poll.

BULL-A-PALOOZA $15 TICKET SPECIAL
 The University of South Florida athletics department has announced Bull-A-Palooza, a special Bulls On Parade ticket special for four sporting events during the weekend of Nov. 14-16.
 For just $15, USF fans can attend the men's basketball regular season opener vs. SMU on Friday, Nov. 14, the football game vs. Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 15, and either the women's basketball game or volleyball match vs. Villanova on Sunday, Nov. 16.
 The men's cagers take on SMU at 7 p.m. at the Sun Dome to kick off the 2008-09 season, while the football squad will host Rutgers at Raymond James Stadium on Military Appreciation Day. The game time has not yet been announced. The women's basketball team is hosting the USF Shootout, Nov. 15-16, and take on Central Connecticut on Saturday and then play either Harvard or Loyola (Md.) on Sunday. Game time will be either Noon or 2 p.m. The volleyball squad plays its final BIG EAST regular season game of the year at 2 p.m. at the Sun Dome Corral.
 To take advantage of the Bull-A-Palooza special fans should call 1-800-GoBulls.

USF TICKET INFORMATION
 Season ticket packages for the 16-game home schedule for the 2008-09 USF men's basketball season are currently on sale with pricing starting as low as $99 for second level baseline tickets, with second level sideline tickets available for as low as $150. Premium seating is also available.
 To purchase season tickets or for more information call 1-800-GoBulls. USF faculty and staff discounts are also available.
 Individual-game tickets for the non-conference schedule are on sale and range from $8 to $20. They can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster phone at 813-287-8844, at any Ticketmaset location or at the Sun Dome Box Office. Big East individual game tickets will be available starting December 15 at 9 a.m. and range from $10 to $25.
 The Bulls open the season with a pair of home exhibition games. The exhibition schedule is highlighted by an intra-city matchup with the University of Tampa on Monday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. Prior to facing Tampa, the Bulls kick off the 2008-09 season with an exhibition game against the University of West Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.
 USF's first regular season contest will come at home vs. SMU on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. The home schedule also includes visits from High Point (Nov. 25), Northeastern (Nov. 29), Niagara (Dec. 14) and Iona (Dec. 27). The games against Northeastern, Niagara and Iona will be televised locally on the Bright House Sports Network.
 The BIG EAST will once again play an 18-game conference schedule, allowing teams to face each opponent once and three teams twice. It will mark the second year of the 18-game schedule, which began for the 2007-08 season.
 The Bulls open league action with a pair of nationally televised home games vs. Syracuse and Louisville, respectively. USF hosts the Orange on ESPN on Friday, Jan. 2, at 8:30 p.m., followed by the Cardinals visiting Tampa for an ESPN2 game on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. The home BIG EAST slate also includes NCAA Tournament teams in Villanova (Jan. 24), Marquette (Feb. 6), Georgetown (Feb. 18), and West Virginia (March 1), along with DePaul (Jan. 20), Providence (Feb. 10) and Cincinnati (March 3).

COACH HEATH TALKS ABOUT UPCOMING SEASON
 USF Head Coach Stan Heath gives his thoughts on a number of topics as he heads into his second season at USF.

First of all let's talk about the foundation you are trying to build here and establish at the University of South Florida.
 When you go from your first year to your second year, you try to learn, you try to get better and you try to make the adjustments. We were able to learn a lot going through a Big East season, having a better understanding of the talent level we are facing. We have gotten a better feel for how grueling each game can be, game by game in a Big East conference race. Players learned things as well, as we go into our second season. We have had a lot of changes. There are some new players on the team and some returning players that I feel have gotten better and improved. We have worked very hard in the offseason to become a more physical basketball team. We need to be a team that improves our skills, shooting-wise and understanding the value of possession of the ball. Also in being a good defensive team, as well as a rebounding team. All of those things have been submitted into our team from a basketball standpoint. I have also watched our guys grow academically. Not only our seniors last year who have graduated, but we have two juniors on our team who have already graduated as well as a third who will get his degree. Our guys have really buckled down and had one of the best summers for our basketball program in a long time. So I really feel like the foundation is set. It is built on hard work, team work, accountability, responsibility and I really think as we continue to grow in those directions we will become one of the top programs in our league.

What is your long-term vision for USF? Not only with the development of the players, but also with the facilities, administration and our partners?
 The long-term vision is obviously to have success both academically and athletically. Make sure we are preparing our players for the real world. They will go out in the future, whether they continue in the basketball world or they continue in the business world, and be successful. That is the long term process that we are looking at. To get there, it is step by step, day by day, brick by brick. That is what we are preaching every single day is to continue to head in that direction. We are starting to develop leadership among our players. We are starting to get to the point where our players are feeling very confident in their abilities to have success, so I feel as though we are striving in that direction.  I don't know if you ever arrive, but even if you do arrive you still have work to do because someone is coming after you.

Everybody's ultimate goal and USF's goal on the court is to win a National Championship. Talk about that goal and what needs to happen to get there and the history you want to establish with a program that's looking to be a regular in the NCAA tournament.
 Everybody would love to win a National Championship. Only one team does it. Unless there is something exceptional, it is a process. I really think that is important for us to take small steps instead of looking at “Hey, I just want to win a National Championship.” So right now it is important for our program to do a great job in the non-conference portion of our season. To win home games, have success on the road and win games you are supposed to win. All of those things are very important. The next step is going into conference play is to protect home court, becoming a team that can win on the road and positioning ourselves so we can play in post season. Right now, we are focusing on getting into post season play. Once we get to that step, then we can reassess our goals. If we are in the NCAA tournament, okay let's win this region, and if we win that region, let's get to the Elite Eight. That in itself is a step-by-step process. Right now our ultimate goals are to do a great job in non-conference, build on that, prepare ourselves for the Big East, and then get to post season.

Talk about the commitment you have seen since you've come on board from the administration and also the support you have gotten from people like Les and Pam Muma?
 To get our program where we want it to be is going to take a collective effort. It is going to take our university; it is going to take leadership from our athletic director Doug Woolard, who does a great job. Then to have people and community leaders that get involved. The commitment that Les and Pam Muma have made is special. I am honored and humbled that they have invested in our basketball program to help us get to the next level. I think one of the most important things that we can do is to build a basketball center to help men's and women's basketball. It will, not only, be a classroom for our basketball players, to help them improve, it would give us our own environment to grow our basketball team. At the same time, it would be an attractive building to recruits and people who want to be a part of our basketball program. Doug Woolard is 100 percent committed to our basketball program, turning the corner and getting to the top level. He has worked very hard and he has helped me and pointed me in the right direction as to how we can get there. What seemed to be a long ways away when I first got hired in March 2007 is right around the corner. It is exciting, our players are excited about it, and several other people in our community have jumped on board to be apart of something that is going to help our basketball program

Talk about Dominique Jones, the person that will most likely be the focal point not only for our team but also for opposing defenses this season. Also talk a about his freshman year, which was arguably the best freshman year ever for a player here at USF, and what expectations you have for him and the expectations he has for himself?
 Dominique caught everybody off guard. He came on like a storm last year and continued to get better and better as the season went on. Not only does he have the talent, but he has a mental toughness about himself and a confidence about himself that he feels he can play with anybody. What he did as a freshman was outstanding. He was consistent, productive and did not get rattled. He did it in some big games as well. This year without some of the attention that Kentrell Gransberry got, he will have a bigger “X” on his back. I really feel like he is up for the challenge, he has had an outstanding summer, he has gotten better. That is good news for us, but I am not sure how everyone else will feel about that. But at the same time he is going to have more defenses skewed against him. As a coaching staff we have got to do a good job of helping him, of positioning him against some of the defenses he is going to see. Dominique, I feel he is ready to do this, has the ability to make everyone else around him better and if he can do that and we do our part, I expect him to have an even better sophomore campaign.

What are the strengths of the team?
 Experience in the backcourt is our strength. Right now we have three perimeter players that started 90-95% of the games last year in Dominique Jones, Chris Howard and Jesus Verdejo. Each of those players contributed very well last year and each, I feel, is prepared to have even better years this year. Chris Howard has lost an additional 7-10 pounds and is lighter on his feet. His shot has improved and he has more confidence in his jump shot. He has worked hard on his free throw shooting to improve that area. He will have the versatility to move around the court, with the ball or without the ball. He has become one of our best screeners and movers in our offense. He is a very good passer and has the ability to get easy baskets for his teammates. Jesus Verdejo had an injury during a key part of the season and missed some time, but once he came back, I thought he was probably our third option. He played very well down the stretch, and had some double figure games at key times. He is a fifth year senior and is very experienced. He has a lot of toughness about him. I really feel that those three guys will be the key to how we do. Fortunately, after six games into our season we will add Mike Mercer, who is a proven player in the SEC. I feel that his experience and his talent will make us better once he joins our lineup. They all have ball handling skills. They all have the ability to score. They all have the ability to play make. I think that they are all very hungry to win, and will be unselfish, out there, on the court. Now they need to help the other guys on the team, and help be effective themselves. I think that because so much attention will be garnered towards them, they will allow our younger big guys to have a productive role out there on the court of getting easy baskets, because they draw so much attention.

As a coaching staff and as the head coach, how do you instill a winning attitude in these guys?
 There are two ways. We have to win off the court, and we have to win on the court. Every day in practice is a day. It is an opportunity to grow that winning mentality. We will make practice very competitive. There will be winners and losers. There will be punishments for guys who lose. Losing just will not be acceptable on a daily basis. I feel that if we practice those types of habits consistently, I feel that those guys will have a nasty taste in their mouths when they enter a game. Knowing that they are there to win, and nothing else is acceptable. So we just have to continue to build that mentality. We have to understand that it is us. It is not going to be one particular player or two. It is going to be a team effort. I really think that our guys will buy into the fact that if we are successful as a team, then individual success will follow.

What does this team lack? What does it need to improve on this year?
 Missing (Kentrell) Gransberry is a big loss in a lot of ways. That is a lot of points and a lot of rebounds. Someone on our front line has got to, not one particular player, but a collective group of guys that help us on the glass, give us an inside scoring presence, give us defensive presence, that collectively can neutralize the big players that we will face on a daily basis. That is an area that we need to get better in. We do have some size. We do have a little bit of experience there with a guy like Mobolaji Ajayi, who started quite a few games. We have a lot of youth. I'm hopeful that some of those young guys will take that opportunity and run with it. I don't expect them to think that they have to, every night, carry the load. That is what I expect our guards to do. I expect them to give a great effort and a great fight every time they step on the court.

Talk a little about the new guys, and what you might have in them.
 Let's start with Eladio Espinosa. Eladio is a freshman from Hargrave. His team went undefeated in prep school. He went to Hargrave Academy and played against some of the best competition. That will help him take that step in college, playing against good competition. Playing for a winning program. He is athletic. He runs the floor. He plays very hard. He has a great motor. He is still refining some of his skills. I do think that the intensity level that he brings every day will help him, and will help our basketball team. Justin Leemow was a late signee. He is a point guard who is very fast and very quick. He has good ball skills, and can knock down a shot. He still needs to get a little bit stronger. He has a presence about himself that I feel can give us some perimeter depth, and can help our team. Gaby Belardo is a guard that we picked up that can play the guard spot. He has ability to shoot the ball and score. He has some quickness out there on the court. He is still learning and making the adjustment. Alex Rivas Sanchez is a guy that has gone through quite a bit. He has been through some injuries. He has gotten healthier. He is still not 100 percent yet. We are hopeful that by the time the season starts, that he will be healthy. He is a physical player and a tough player. He is a guy that gets rebounds, blocks shots, and that can really help us if we can get him healthy. We are really excited if we can help him turn that corner with his health. Augustus Gilchrist may be one of the most talented front court players that I have ever coached. We are very excited about his upside. He has not played basketball in a year at the college level. He will be making an adjustment of getting used to the speed of the game and the learning habits of playing with other guys on the court. As far as being six-foot-10 inches, having the skills to play inside and outside, having ball skills, athletic skills. He is a very talented player that is going to be a big part of our future. Last but not least is Mitch Emory. He is a walk on in our program that we have had a chance to see and encouraged him to become a part of our program. He is kind of an in between forward. He plays a little bit more on the perimeter. He can shoot the basketball and has some athletic ability. We will obviously monitor his progress and see if he is a guy that we redshirt or if he will play for this upcoming season. He has the ability to help us in practice for sure.

Talk about what a player like Augustus Gilchrist can do for this program visibility wise.
 Augustus was highly recruited player out of high school. He has a rare skill set of having so much versatility at his size. He has strength and toughness to go with it. His relationship with Chris Howard was huge in him being a part of our program. Once he did make that decision and joined our team I do think that it created a lot of interest of the recruits, of the coaches. They saw that South Florida is turning the corner to be able to land a player of his magnitude. I really feel that he is going to be an impact player for us. He will be a guy that other guys look at, other recruits will look at and say they would like to play with Gus Gilchrist.
On what the coaching staff has ahead of them.
 This staff is very experienced group of guys. They know that they have got to work. We have to continue to push forward. It is certainly a tall mountain to climb with some of the competition that we face in our league. They work very hard with our players and player development. They work very hard off of the court to get our guys to grow as student athletes as a whole. I think that we stress having a strong player coach relationship, especially outside of the court. I see more and more that our players look to our coaching staff for guidance and assistance. I am very pleased with the direction that we are going with our staff and the relationship between the players and the coaching staff.

Talk about the challenge that is the BIG EAST Conference.
 I would love to be a fan this year to watch BIG EAST basketball. It is going to be exciting. It is going to be a war every single night. It is going to be some exciting basketball. To be the coach in it you know that you have to roll up your sleeves and to fight every night. That still is exciting. It is challenging, but it is exciting. Our league prepares you for anything that you are going to face beyond conference play. You will face multiple styles of play. We will face great coaching. We will face some of the most talented players in the country. We will face great crowds and play in exciting venues. The challenge for us is that we look at it one game at a time. We have to be sure not to look at one loss and let in linger into something else. We understand that if we have a big win we can't go into a role that we let our guard down. Anybody can beat you on any given night. It is a test. It is a huge test. Going into the season with some guys that have been through it you have a little bit more of a feel for what is in front of you. That is the good news for us. The tough news is that we have to take things up another level. It is going to take a whole team to do that.
 

BIG EAST Field TO Increase To 16 For 2009
 The Presidents of the BIG EAST Conference voted to include all 16 member institutions in the men's and women's basketball championship tournaments beginning in 2009.  The Presidents took this action at their annual meeting, which was held Nov. 6 in Philadelphia.
 Previously, on the top 12 teams in the final regular-season standings advanced to participate in the men's and women's championships.  The men's championship is held in New York City at Madison Square Garden.  The women's championship is held in Hartford, Conn., at the Hartford Civic Center.

TV All The Time
 In 2007-08, the BIG EAST began a new multiyear agreement with ESPN that brought the national television exposure for the league to unprecedented levels.  That coverage continues this season.  For the second straight year, every conference regular-season game will be televised.
 The BIG EAST has always been considered a leader in TV.  Twelve of the 16 BIG EAST institutions are located in the top 34 media markets in the country. Some of the highlights of the current agreement:
 ESPN, Inc. will produce 140 of the 144 regular-season conference games this season.  The four remaining games will be carried by CBS Sports.
 ESPN and ESPN2 will telecast a minimum of 60 games each year.  In 2008-09, ESPN or ESPN2 will televise 45 regular-season league games, 11 games of The BIG EAST Championship and eight nonconference home contests.
 ESPN Regional will carry a minimum of 67 games under the banner of The BIG EAST Network and continue to produce its weekend Game of the Week package, which reaches over a third of the nation's homes and has a household reach of more than 38 million.  Most games offered by ESPN Regional are also available nationally as part of ESPN Full Court, the pay subscription college basketball outer-market service.
 ESPNU or ESPN360, the network's customized broadband service, will carry at least 28 league games in 2008-09.
 ESPN or ESPN Regional will produce numerous non-conference home games.
 The BIG EAST will continue its regular presence on ESPN's Big Monday as well as a regular presence on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
The television schedule is so extensive that the league can claim it has multiple “Nights of the Week.”
 A record 45 conference contests will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2.  CBS Sports will televise 10 more games involving BIG EAST teams.  ESPN will continue to televise The BIG EAST Championship from Madison Square Garden in New York.  The dates are March 10-14.
 In total, 70 of the 144 regular-season BIG EAST games will be on national television, which includes 21 that will be carried on ESPNU.  The remaining games will be carried on ESPN360 or the BIG EAST Network, which is produced by ESPN Regional Television. 
 The ESPNU slate also includes at least 13 nonleague contests.  ESPN.360 is carrying seven games.
In addition, the BIG EAST and ESPN Regional Television will present the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week on Saturdays and Sundays, mostly at noon, Eastern time.  The syndicated package, the largest in college basketball, reaches more than one-third of the nation's homes.