New-look Bulls open season on Tuesday at Yuengling Center
USF (0-0) vs. Bethune-Cookman (0-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 9 | 5 p.m.
ARENA: Yuengling Center | Tampa, Fla.
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: USF leads, 15-1
GAME NOTES: Here
TICKETS: Purchase
By Joey Johnston
USF men's basketball has endured the perfect storm of changes — the transfer portal, the extra season granted by COVID-19, the allowance of a one-time transfer and immediate eligibility at the new school.Â
Perfect storm? It probably hit more like a hurricane.
Heading into Tuesday's season-opener against Bethune-Cookman University at the Yuengling Center, USF's numbers seem crazy:
- Just four holdover veterans.
- Ten new faces — eight transfers with college basketball experience and two incoming freshmen.
- The departure of 10 players who were on last season's roster — a combined loss of 612 games played and 369 games started during their USF careers — and nine who are now playing with different programs.
By normal standards, it's staggering, dizzying, maybe even concerning. But Bulls coach Brian Gregory said you can't apply normal standards to today's college basketball landscape.
"It's a challenge, but it's not isolated to us,'' Gregory said. "This is here to stay. With the portal, I think every program is going to have four to six new players every year. It will be interesting to see how all our new pieces fit together. We're excited about what we can build.''
There's an intriguing question surrounding the Bulls, who underachieved with 14-17 and 9-13 seasons after a school-record 24 victories and the College Basketball Invitational title in 2018-19.
With the departure of so many familiar faces, and the addition of so many newcomers, could the Bulls actually be … a better team?
Gregory said he believes it could happen. USF has improved in two obvious areas — free throw shooting and 3-point shooting.
Last season, the Bulls were 63.7 percent from the line (332nd nationally) and 65 percent (326th) in 2019-20. Last season, the Bulls were 32.7 percent (226th) from 3-point range and 30.9 percent (296th) in 2019-20.
Combination 6-foot-4 guard Javon Greene, a transfer and four-year starter from George Mason, will contribute in those areas — and more. Greene is an 80.8-percent free-throw shooter (90.5 as a sophomore) and was third in Atlantic 10 Conference league-game 3-point shooting (45.1). He had 1,139 points, 535 rebounds, 199 assists and 162 steals in his Patriot career.
"Javon has a great feel for the game,'' Gregory said. "If he's open for the three, he's not going to pass it up and drive it. He's going to take the shot. He has a great basketball IQ. He's going to make a big impact for us.''
DJ Patrick, a 6-6 swingman from Triton College, shot 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the line in his only junior-college season. Jake Boggs, a 6-8 forward and transfer from UNC-Wilmington, shot 43.9 percent from 3-point range (38.8 in his career) and 76.7 percent from the line. Former St. Petersburg High prep legend Serrel Smith Jr., a 6-4 guard who played at Maryland at ETSU, was an 84-percent free-throw shooter as a college freshman.
Meanwhile, USF also has improved its interior depth with 6-9, 265-pound Bayron Matos (New Mexico), 6-8 Jalyn McCreary (South Carolina) and 6-8 Corey Walker Jr. (Tennessee). Sam Hines Jr., a 6-6 swingman transfer from the University of Denver, might be the most versatile of all.
True freshman Trey Moss, from Windermere High School, will see point-guard time behind Caleb Murphy, a former top-75 recruit who showed brilliant flashes during his USF freshman season. The Bulls also return rapidly improving 6-5 guard Jamir Chaplin; 7-foot, 280-pound center Russel Tchewa and guard Mark Calleja, a former walk-on who has earned a scholarship.
How will it all come together?
"We're deep, we're long and we feel like we're a more athletic and better-shooting team,'' Gregory said. "You can build a team. It might be harder to build the culture that you see in a program. There are challenges that we will navigate through. But as coaches, I think it's a mistake to judge this current climate as right or wrong. As the players say, it is what it is.
"I think we will share the ball more, move the ball more. I like what I have seen. But sure, we will know more once we get deeper into the season and the roles become more defined.''
The USF newcomers said they believe the Bulls have the makings of a very good team.
"We're definitely going to make this work,'' Hines said. "For a bunch of guys who have come from a lot of different places, we established a pretty good bond. I don't worry at all about our ability to work together.''
"We all like each other and that's important,'' Greene said. "You don't just build chemistry magically or instantly. It takes time. There's ups and downs to a basketball season. But we have talent here and I'm really excited to see how we do. I know we're going to be very competitive.''
The Bulls have a pair of non-conference games against SEC opponents (Nov. 19 against No. 22-ranked Auburn at Amalie Arena and Dec. 18 against Florida at the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise), plus a road game against an ACC foe (Nov. 29 at Boston College). There's also a Dec. 22-25 trip to the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, where Brigham Young awaits in USF's opener.
USF opens its American Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of home games against East Carolina on New Year's Day and the Houston Cougars, a Final Four team last season, on Jan. 5.
Coming off a COVID-limited year that saw the Bulls forced into a 32-day gap between games due to the virus, Gregory hopes his fifth season at USF will establish some positive momentum.
The Bulls are moving on without four-year starters David Collins (a 1,516-point scorer now at Clemson) and Justin Brown (UAB). Top rebounder Michael Durr has shifted to Indiana, while Alexis Yetna, a former AAC Freshman of the Year, is at Seton Hall. Other former Bulls include Madut Akec (Detroit Mercy), Xavier Castaneda (Akron), Prince Oduro (Detroit Mercy), Rashun Williams (Radford) and Luke Anderson (Florida Southern). Zack Dawson, who played in 29 games during 2019-20 but opted out of last season, is not currently on a college basketball roster.
"We wish all those guys well and want them to continue doing well,'' said Gregory, who has added Louis Rowe and Jason Slay to his coaching staff with holdover assistant Larry Dixon. "They are always part of the family. Those guys fought and competed every day. With all the COVID stuff and distractions of last season, I don't think we played really well together.
"I think last spring, all of us throughout the country were ready for a total reset. We're getting that chance now. I love all our new guys and what they're going to bring to USF. I'm excited about the possibilities.''
