Bulls Begin Season Two Under Gregory at Home Tuesday Night
MATCHUP: Alabama A&M (0-0) at USF (0-0)
DAY/TIME: Tuesday/7 p.m.
LOCATION: Yuengling Center, Tampa
WATCH ONLINE: BullsVision
LISTEN: Bulls Unlimited
FOLLOW: Live stats |
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TICKETS: USFBullsTix.com
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, NOV. 5, 2018 – Following a successful preseason tune-up, USF men's basketball is ready to get the real thing started in front of the home fans at the Yuengling Center on Tuesday night.
USF begins its second run under head coach
Brian Gregory with the program's first-ever matchup against Alabama A&M in the Bulls' regular season opener that's set for 7 p.m.
Gregory's Bulls will hit the court after
topping the University of Tampa, 80-52, in an exhibition test at the Yuengling Center on Oct. 30. Sophomore
Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) and senior
T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) each scored 15 points and combined to make seven of USF's 10 three-pointers. Freshman forward
Michael Durr (Atlanta, Ga.) also showcased his skills with 11 points, four rebounds and five of the Bulls' nine blocks.
Brown, sophomore
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) and 7-foot-2 senior center
Nikola Scekic (Serbia) all return after helping the Bulls post the program's first double-digit win season since 2013-14. USF ended the 2017-18 regular season with victories over Memphis and SMU before Collins poured in career-high 30 points during the Bulls' two-point loss to Memphis in the first round of the conference tournament.
The program also is excited to have Lang, who sat out last season along with fellow transfer
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and promising sophomore forward
Alexis Yetna (France).
At this point, every player on the roster has been recruited by Gregory's staff, which brought much more young talent into the program. In addition to Durr, USF's freshman class includes guards
Xavier Castaneda (Chicago) and
Rashun Williams (Arlington, Ga.) along with 6-foot-7 freshman forward
Madut Akec (Bradenton, Fla.).
USF also strengthened its roster by signing 6-foot-9 sophomore forward
Mayan Kiir, a transfer from LSU who is
immediately eligible to suit up the Bulls. The Bulls added more size and athleticism by bringing aboard 6-foot-10 junior forward
Antun Maricevic (Croatia).
Watch Two USF Games on BullsVision
Fans out of town can watch two USF home games on BullsVision this season, starting with Tuesday's season opener against Alabama A&M.
BullsVision also will broadcast USF's second game of the season against Austin Peay on Monday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Watch both broadcasts
HERE.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the Bulls' preseason progress:
"I like our progress over the last 35 practices. One closed scrimmage, the exhibition game last week, I thought that was really useful to get the guys in their uniforms out there. We were able to come up with some things we've been stressing in practice that showed up in the game as well. I like where we're at right now, but we've got a long way to go. It will be the second time (Tuesday night) that all the guys that are playing are in uniform and playing together. That's our biggest challenge."
Gregory on the benefit of his team getting to open the season at home:
"You always want to open up at home and I think there's a little bit of excitement heading into this season. Now we need to do our part and play well in our home games. It's great to open up the Yuengling Center with our first home game… I've been to every football game and the student section has been unbelievable. I sit right to the left of the student section and sometimes they start flowing into our area as well. Their energy has obviously helped quite a bit in those games, so I'm hoping we get some carryover into basketball as well."
Gregory on preparing to face Alabama A&M for the first time:
"It's difficult. We have no film on them from this year, so you're using last year. (They have) new players, a new system, a new coaching staff, so in games like that you've really got to stick to our principles. We're a high-prep team. We take great pride in preparation, so we try to do whatever we can. We're going to be tested just in terms of our defensive system, our offensive system and whatever they throw at us. Are we able to respond in the right way? You can't control everything, so your response is the one thing you can control. We've got to be ready to respond in a positive fashion."
Know the Foe
Dylan Howard takes over as interim head coach for the 2018-19 season after serving as Alabama A&M's associate head coach last season.
Alabama A&M will travel all over the country during a six-game road trip to start the season. The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-28 finish in 2017-18 after producing all of their wins in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Senior guard Arthur Johnson (6-2, 195) returns after leading the team last season in scoring (11.2 ppg) and three-pointers (48) while ranking second in rebounding (5.3 per game). Other key returners include 6-foot-7 senior forward Andre Kennedy, 6-foot-6 junior forward Evan Wiley and 6-foot-5 senior guard Jalen Reeder.
Bulls Bits
- YEAR TWO UNDER GREGORY: USF head coach Brian Gregory has won at least 16 games in year two in each of his previous two coaching stops.
- SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: USF owns a 35-12 all-time record in season openers after defeating Florida Atlantic, 60-59, in game one last season.
- COLLINS ON A ROLL HEADING INTO 2018-19: Sophomore guard David Collins posted double-digit scoring figures in nine of the final 10 games last season, averaging 15.7 points during the span. Collins was named to The American's All-Rookie Team after averaging 10.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season.
- TEAM CAPTAINS: Upperclassmen guards T.J. Lang and Laquincy Rideau were recently voted captains by the team. "It's a great honor," Gregory said. "But at the same time, we talk about everybody has to take part in leadership at different times in practices and games, and different things like that. We do have a group that's very committed to doing things the right way and trying to learn how we do things on a daily basis."
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14.
USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times.
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