Rideau Named AAC Defensive Player of the Year
PROVIDENCE, R.I., MARCH 12, 2019 – On the heels of a season that saw him set a new American Athletic Conference single-season steals record, USF redshirt junior guard
Laquincy Rideau was selected as the league's Defensive Player of the Year, it was announced on Tuesday.
A native of West Palm Beach, Fla., Rideau becomes the first player in the program's 48-year history to win a conference defensive player of the year award. He's also the first Bull to win an individual postseason award since Altron Jackson was tabbed the Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year in 2001.
Rideau quickly made his presence felt on the defensive end of the court when he recorded four steals in his USF debut Nov. 6 against Alabama A&M. He would go on to post nine games with at least four steals, which included tying the single-game school record with 10 at Temple on Jan. 12. Rideau added 18 points and 10 assists at Temple to become only the sixth player in the NCAA over the last 20 years to have a triple-double with points, assists and steals.
On Feb. 7 at SMU, Rideau collected his 69th steal of the year to become USF's all-time single-season steals leader and break the previous record that stood for 45 years. One week later, Rideau tallied five steals at UCF to become the American Athletic Conference single-season steals leader with his 75th takeaway of the year. He's tacked on five more steals since then and ranks seventh in the NCAA with 2.9 thefts per game.
In addition to his defensive prowess, Rideau also leads The American with 5.5 assists per game and he's attempting to become the first player in conference history to lead the league in assists and steals. He adds 12.9 points per game and on Monday was named to the all-conference third team, joining
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) as the only two Bulls in school history named AAC all-conference.
Rideau and the Bulls begin their bid for an American Athletic Conference tournament championship Thursday at 1 p.m. (EST) when eighth-seeded USF faces 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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