TAMPA, Fla. (November 3, 2024) – Last season was about unprecedented success for the USF men's basketball team.
Now it could be about unprecedented emotion.
USF players must deal with real-life challenges far beyond the court as the Bulls prepare for Monday night's season-opener against the No. 21-ranked Florida Gators at Jacksonville. Following the tragic Oct. 24 death of head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, the Bulls are balancing their grief with the intensity of facing a high-level opponent.
"It's definitely emotional, but it's everyone playing like Coach Amir would want, and we're happy to be back out there on the court,'' sophomore point guard Jayden Reid said. "Every time we step out there, we're doing it for him. It's a sad moment, but he left a legacy, and we're carrying it on.''
Ben Fletcher, Abdur-Rahim's right-hand man who was elevated to interim head coach, said the USF players are determined to show love and respect for their mentor by competing with the proper mindset.
Two days after Abdur-Rahim's death, the Bulls returned to practice.
"They were as locked in as I've ever seen them,'' said Fletcher, who followed Abdur-Rahim to USF after four seasons on his staff at Kennesaw State University. "The last thing we were going to do is force them (to practice or play). They were ready to go, and they wanted to do this the right way. I think it's their way of honoring Amir.
"I think (the memory of) Amir will spearhead us through the season. We will not try to forget or push emotions to the side. This is real life, and the guys will have to grieve at their own pace. We want to continue to pour into our young men and make sure they have the support they need. But as far as basketball, we will keep Amir's name alive.''
The Bulls were supposed to scrimmage at Miami on October 26 but skipped that opportunity. Fletcher let the players decide from there, and they opted to remain on schedule, playing Wednesday night's 94-51 exhibition victory against Edward Waters College, then beginning the season as planned.
"As we have dealt with the news about Amir, it has been a process for everyone,'' USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. "Everyone processes things in different ways. I think we've given the right space to do that in all our individual ways and tried to find ways to come together as a team and as a family.
"The guys are eager to do what they love and do what Coach Amir would want them to do. They're eager to get on with that. It's a strong bunch and a great bunch. They wouldn't be here if they didn't believe in Amir and the staff he assembled. Coach Amir did everything as a team, and the results of what he put together, as we all know, produced a season we will always remember.''
The Bulls were 25-8 last season, setting a program record for victories while capturing the American Athletic Conference's regular-season title, registering a 15-game winning streak, and reaching the National Invitation Tournament's second round.
Few outsiders expected such production. In fact, the Bulls were picked for ninth last season in the 14-team AAC. This season, the Bulls were selected third in the league behind UAB and Memphis.
The Bulls will be without three familiar performers who entered the transfer portal — Chris Youngblood (Alabama), Kasean Pryor (Louisville), and Selton Miguel (Maryland) — but USF has a talented cast of returning players and newcomers.
USF features 6-foot-5 junior Kobe Knox (8.4 points per game), who started all 33 games last season, and Reid (6.8 points, 3.1 assists), an AAC All-Freshman Team member, along with 6-6 graduate student Brandon Stroud (5.2 points, 6.1 rebounds).
There's also 6-8 senior forward Corey Walker, a former Tennessee player beginning his fourth season with USF, along with 7-foot, 238-pound sophomore center Daniel Tobiloba, a big-man project who should benefit from last season's menu of mostly watching and learning USF's system.
The X-factor could be 6-3 graduate student guard Kasen Jennings, who accompanied Youngblood and Stroud to USF from Kennesaw State but was unable to play last season due to injury. In the 2022-23 season, Jennings averaged 6.2 points per game and shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range.
The Bulls added some inside muscle with 6-11, 275-pound senior Jamille Reynolds (Cincinnati), a former St. Petersburg Lakewood standout, plus all-court versatility with 6-9 De'Ante Green (Florida State) and 6-6 Quincy Ademokoya (Kennesaw State).
Other intriguing newcomers include 6-5 sophomore guard Jimmie Williams, a junior-college All-American at Wallace State College who had a 48-point game (while averaging 22.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists), and 6-2 freshman combination guard CJ Brown, a four-star prospect from Marietta, Ga.
"We've got a lot of depth,'' Reid said. "It's like we've got a whole other starting five coming off the bench. And when we all went to Spain (for a summer tour), that brought us closer together. I feel like we're ready for whatever is ahead of us.''
USF has a challenging non-conference schedule, which includes Monday's neutral-site game against the Gators, along with trips to the College of Charleston (Nov. 8), Loyola-Chicago (Dec. 7) and Utah State (Dec. 14).
"There are going to be hard days because of the emotions these guys have experienced; they're going to come and go in waves,'' Fletcher said. "But they are resilient. It's a hard time. That's what it is. And we're all going to have hard times in life, but you have to find a way to make it through.''
The Gators are next.
"We're looking forward to it,'' Stroud said. "We've got to get back in practice and clean up some stuff like offensive rebounding because Florida has a pretty big team. But I think we've got a great team, and we're going to do some good things. We've got to make sure my guy (Fletcher) gets that first win.
"We have been through a lot, and there will be some times when it might be tough. But this is a tough team. We're ready for it, and I think we're going to go a long way.''
About USF Men's Basketball
The University of South Florida men's basketball, led by interim head coach Ben Fletcher, is a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls enter their 2024-25 campaign, presented by Tampa General Hospital, on the heels of their best season in program history, in which they claimed their first-ever regular season conference title, won a record 25 games and earned a Top 25 ranking for the first time in program history. A presence on the college basketball scene for more than five decades, South Florida has earned two conference titles and three NCAA tournament bids (1990, 1992, and 2012), appeared in the NIT eight times, and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
South Florida is wearing patches with the initials AAR this season in memory of their head coach, Amir Abdur-Rahim, who passed away in October 2024.
The Bulls play their home games at the 10,400-seat Yuengling Center, located on South Florida's Tampa campus.
Men's basketball single-game and season tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls or by visiting USFBullsTix.com.
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