USF Athletics

Gregory Happy With Program as USF Starts Voluntary Workouts

June 15, 2020

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, JUNE 15, 2020 – USF men's basketball started getting used to a new type of normal on Monday, as student-athletes were allowed to begin voluntary workouts at the Muma Center.

"The guys have done a good job up to this point of taking care of themselves and following the proper protocol," head coach Brian Gregory said. "A lot of the guys have stayed here in Tampa throughout the entire duration of this. I'm obviously really proud of the work they did in the classroom to end the school year off as well."

About 30 percent of USF's roster returned to campus Monday after being tested for COVID-19. More Bulls will arrive in the near future during the continuation of the University's phased return plan approved by the USF Board of Trustees that began last week with members of USF football.

Strict health safety and hygiene rules must be followed by student-athletes and members of USF Athletics approved to return in order to minimize the risk and potential spread of COVID-19.

"I think our athletic department as a whole, and the university as a whole, has done a really good job of setting the guidelines," Gregory said. "It's just up to us to follow them."

During voluntary workouts, USF student-athletes can only be supervised by strength and conditioning coaches, along with sports medicine personnel. Gregory and his coaching staff can't be involved, but they're making sure players' families are informed on the entire return process through Zoom, Facetime and other communication avenues.

"We've gone beyond and above in terms of some of the stuff to make sure our parents know that we're gonna do everything we can to keep our guys safe," Gregory said. "The biggest thing with that is just to let them know our procedures that are in place."

Monday marked the first time USF student-athletes have worked out on campus since before the team headed to Texas for the conference tournament in March. Gregory's Bulls were focused on adding to the program's third straight double-digit win campaign when postseason play was ultimately canceled less than an hour before their opening-round game.

"I always say, our guys were ready to go and it was a tough deal to have to tell them that. I think at that time, no one knew what it was gonna all mean, and I was one of them," Gregory said. "I asked should they cancel the NCAA tournament? Should they wait a couple weeks? Well, obviously it was the right decision."

Since then, Gregory's Bulls reached a new program milestone with a 3.45 team grade-point average during a record-setting spring semester. Thirteen student-athletes earned spots on the USF Athletics Honor Roll after seniors Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) both graduated.

Building more program momentum this summer and beyond will require the Bulls to stay flexible, and keep following guidelines as the new season approaches.

"There is no exact formula for what the next month is gonna look like, two months from now, three months from now, and different things like that," Gregory said. "One benefit for us is we have a good portion of our team coming back."

Gregory, Bulls Make Most of Social Distancing
One very positive aspect of social distancing during the pandemic for Gregory was reconnecting with his wife, Yvette, and their daughters, Isabella and Elyse, at home after months on the coaching grind.

"What an unbelievable opportunity for me to spend all that time with my family, with a daughter leaving for college and another one that's gonna be a sophomore in high school," he said. "… Lunches together. I didn't even know you could do that."

Gregory also said members of the program utilizing technology tools, like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, proved to be very effective when in-person communication wasn't an option.

"It's been an opportunity to learn some different methods, in terms of connecting with people, with your players, with families, with recruits, with boosters," Gregory said. "I think there's been some things we've learned."
 
Bulls Bits

• YETNA UPDATE: This March, Gregory gave a very encouraging update on star forward Alexis Yetna, who missed the entire 2019-20 season with a knee injury. Gregory dished out more great news Monday. "He's progressing very well right now. Again, we're talking not even mid-June, so we're not gonna push it with anything. But he's able to get some light shooting in right now and do some running and so forth," Gregory said. "It's just a matter of now getting his body and the complete strength back in that leg. He looks like a million bucks. He's put on good solid weight in his upper body. He's in good spirits, as much as you can be with the grueling rehab and recovery that he's gone through."
• BULLS PARTICIPATE IN UNITY WALK: The last time reporters saw Gregory was back on June 6 in downtown Tampa during the "unity walk" to promote peace and positive change that was led by USF football cornerback KJ Sails. Members of both USF basketball staffs made sure to attend the successful event that attracted hundreds of supporters. "Watching KJ lead that and our guys being involved in that was inspirational to anybody that was around it," Gregory said.

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 10^th 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 owns nearly 300 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT 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, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.

To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men's' basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).