As we approach a highly anticipated USF basketball season, let's look back at some of the student-athletes who got us here. Our list of 10 essential USF basketball players may not line up perfectly with yours; discussion and debate is welcomed.
We'll list these 10 players in no particular order. They may or may not have huge statistics, and they may or may not have been a part of the big plays we all remember. But because of their talent, their effort or even their timing, they provided a major influence on our USF men's basketball program.
By JIM LOUK
Voice of the Bulls
TAMPA, SEPT. 30, 2014 - Longevity alone doesn't qualify someone to make this list, but longevity with excellence does, and that brings us to Tommy Tonelli. As a player and a coach, Tonelli built a Bulls career completely unique in the annals of USF basketball history.
Through four years as a student-athlete and two tenures on the coaching staff, Tonelli touched the program like no one else has. There are 18 men who have reached 1,000 points as a Bull; Tonelli played with or coached 10 of them. And he has a direct link with each of the six Bulls who have made the NBA; he was either a teammate or a coach to each and every one of them.
He came to the Bulls from Chicago, a playmaking guard recruited by Lee Rose in the Sun Belt era of USF basketball. He came off the bench as a freshman in 1982-83, and then moved to the starting lineup for the remainder of his career.
Tonelli ran the Bulls offense through changing times in college basketball. The Bulls and the Sun Belt experimented with the three point shot in his freshman season, and then never again was it part of the game during Tonelli's playing career. At that time the shot clock in college basketball was 45 seconds. Low scoring games were the norm; the offensive numbers from this era are often modest at best.
But in his time Tonelli piled up 480 assists, still good for 5th all-time, and 138 steals, still good for 9th all- time at USF. His thread-the-needle passes to Charlie Bradley are remembered by Bulls fans to this day.
And he was a winner. His Bulls teams won 71 games while he was an active player, and went to the NIT twice, going 2-2.
He captained the team his final two years, and was awarded the Sun Belt Conference's sportsmanship award as a senior. USF named him the school's outstanding senior in 1986.
The 1986-87 season brought a new head coach, Bobby Paschal, and a new chapter for Tonelli, who began a 10 year run on the Bulls coaching staff. He was part of USF's first two NCAA Tournament teams, and went to the NIT two more times as well.
As a player or coach, Tonelli has been a member of six of USF's 11 post season teams. And, he remains the only person to go to the postseason with USF Basketball as both a player and a coach.
After leaving USF for a successful high school coaching career, he came back to the Bulls for a brief run from 2007-09.
From Lee Rose to Stan Heath, as a player and as a coach, Tonelli has been a part of over 200 USF basketball victories. The program is old enough now that no one can say they've seen it all or done it all, but Tommy Tonelli may come the closest of anyone to making that claim.
USF men's basketball season tickets are on sale now and available online at GoUSFBulls.com, by calling 1-800-GoBulls, or in person at the USF Ticket Office. Season ticket members may renew their tickets online today.
The Bulls return three players who saw playing time last season in Corey Allen Jr., Anthony Collins, and Chris Perry. USF welcomes six newcomers as well as Jake Bodway, Dre Clayton and Bo Zeigler who redshirted their freshman season. Orlando Antigua is in his first season as head coach after spending the past five seasons as an assistant coach at Kentucky.
Previously in 10 Essential Bulls
John Kiser (Sept. 22)
