USF Trio Tabbed AAC All-Conference
PROVIDENCE, R.I., MARCH 11, 2019 – The USF men's basketball team was well represented on the 2019 American Athletic Conference postseason awards list as
David Collins and
Laquincy Rideau were named to the all-conference third team and
Alexis Yetna earned a spot on the all-freshman team.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Collins led the Bulls' offensive attack and ranked 13th in The American with 15.3 points per game, scoring in double figures in all but four games during the regular season. In addition, Collins turned in 10 games of at least 20 points and at one point featured four straight games of 20 points or more. Collins also showed a remarkable ability to get to the free throw line and ended the regular season second in the league and 20th in the NCAA with 170 made attempts. That number also stands as the third-most in a single season in school history and the fifth-most in a single season in conference history.
Collins also proved to be one of the top defenders in the league and stood fourth in The American with 1.8 steals per game. His 55 steals this season rank as the 11th-most in school history for a single season. Collins has now earned American Athletic Conference postseason honors in back-to-back years as he was selected to the all-rookie team in 2018.
Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) burst onto the scene early this season and quickly established himself as one of the top point guards in the conference. He poured in 12.9 points per game and paced The American with 5.5 assists and 2.9 steals per game, ranking 35th in the NCAA in assists and seventh in steals. Rideau, who is attempting to become the first player in conference history to lead the league in assists and steals, set the USF single-season school record for steals earlier this year when he recorded his 69th of the season. He's gone on to collect 11 more and now holds The American single-season steals record with 80.
Earlier this year, Rideau turned in one of the greatest performances in the NCAA when he registered a triple-double Jan. 12 at Temple with 18 points, 10 assists and 10 steals, allowing him to become only the sixth player in the NCAA over the last 20 years to have a triple-double with points, assists and steals. It was also the first triple-double in the history of Temple's historic Liacouras Center.
Rideau and Collins are now the first two Bulls to ever be named all-conference in The American.
Yetna (Paris) produced a debut season to remember and wasted no time in showing he was one of the top forwards in The American, collecting 17 rebounds and 11 points Nov. 18 against Georgetown for his first career double-double. He would go on to register 14 double-digit rebounding games on his way to leading the league while ranking 27th in the NCAA with 9.6 rebounds per game. His 277 rebounds thus far this season are the most by any freshman in school history and stand as the second-most in a single season by any freshman in league history. In addition, Yetna paced The American and stood 21st in the nation with 3.3 offensive rebounds per game.
Offensively, Yetna averaged 12.1 points per game and has scored the seventh-most single-season points in school history by a freshman with 350. He ranked first in The American and 41st in the NCAA with 11 double-doubles and ended the regular season with more doubles-doubles than six teams in The American.
USF begins its quest for an American Athletic Conference tournament championship Thursday at 1 p.m. (EST) when the eighth-seeded Bulls face No. 9 seed UConn at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.
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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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