Laquincy Rideau Returning to USF
TAMPA, MAY 29, 2019 – University of South Florida men's basketball guard
Laquincy Rideau will return to the Bulls for his senior year in 2019-20.
Rideau entered the NBA Draft last month and participated in the evaluation process that allowed him to work out at NBA combines or for teams specifically.
"It has always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA, but after speaking with my family and my coaches, I have decided to remain at USF for my senior season," Rideau said. "We accomplished one of goals last season by winning a championship, but we have so much more left to achieve and this is a team that I believe is built for greatness. I'm excited to be back on campus with my teammates and I can't wait to get this season started."
In his first season with the Bulls, Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) earned American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors after pacing the league with 2.9 steals per game. Rideau registered 101 steals and finished the 2018-19 season with the fourth-most of any player in the NCAA and the most single-season steals in conference history. He also led the league with 5.4 assists per game and became the first player in league history to pace The American in both steals in assists. Additionally, Rideau was one of only three players in the NCAA with 100 assists and 100 steals. He also scored 13.4 points per game, including a career-high 35 at DePaul in the CBI championship series, and was selected to the All-AAC Third Team.
"Laquincy quickly established himself as one of the top players in our league last season and his skill set is certainly equipped for the NBA," USF head coach
Brian Gregory said. "Working out for multiple NBA teams and communicating with NBA personnel provided a lot of positive feedback. Even with that, Laquincy felt like remaining at USF was in his best interest and we're thrilled to have him in our backcourt for another season."
With Rideau back for his senior season, USF returns 92.4 percent of its scoring, 94.6 percent of its rebounding, 94.6 percent of its assists, 95.1 percent of its steals and 90.3 percent of its minutes.
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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's resume includes nearly 300 career head coaching wins and seven postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship and the 2019 CBI Championship. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.
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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