USF men's basketball head coach Chris Mack already knows his blueprint.
"We're going to get talent and we're going to have high-character players,'' Mack said. "And we're going to win. We're definitely going to win.''
He doesn't stop there.
"I want to get to a Final Four,'' Mack said. "Honestly, I am driven to get to a Final Four. In this profession, if you can reach that, you've gotten to the pinnacle. And I don't think it's for a very select few.
"Everybody puts their pants on one leg at a time, so we're going to keep marching toward that goal. History has shown that you can get to a Final Four without being the most talented team or a team with four NBA draft picks on it. You don't have to beat each of the other 67 teams. You have to beat four of them to get there (Final Four) and six of them to win it all. Our teams generally get into the NCAA Tournament (almost) every year. If we're playing well that time of the year, we get into that NCAA Tournament, and anything can happen.''
Mack harkened back to 1999.
That's when Gonzaga happened.
Some college basketball fans had never heard of Gonzaga University and many weren't even sure how to pronounce the name (gone-ZAG-uh). The Bulldogs, in the program's second NCAA Tournament ever, made the Elite Eight and were a whisker away from defeating Connecticut, the eventual national champion.
That began a run of 27-consecutive NCAA Tournament bids (not counting the COVID-cancelled 2020 event) for Gonzaga, which is now a household name.
"Gonzaga was once (perceived as) this Cinderella program and nobody could believe they were in the Sweet 16 (in 1999),'' Mack said. "Dan Monson was coaching then. Mark Few took over and he has done it year after year after year.
"I believe elite programs stand on their own. We have all the resources to be ultra-successful with a national brand. This place (USF) has done something special the last three years and we (intend to) build upon that.''
The Bulls were 25-8 in 2023-24, winning an American Conference regular-season championship under Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. Last year, they finished 25-9 with league regular-season and tournament titles, plus the program's fourth NCAA Tournament bid.
With USF's recent history of winning championships, attracting top players and garnering fan support, Mack said this is an ideal time to join the Bulls.
Given Mack's head-coaching history at Xavier, Louisville and the College of Charleston, the highest goals could be realistic targets.
He's 323-153 overall in 15 seasons with a dozen 20-plus-victory finishes, plus nine NCAA Tournament bids.
In 2016-17, with an injury riddled Xavier team that limped to the regular-season finish, he guided the No. 11-seeded Musketeers to the Elite Eight, upsetting No. 6 Maryland, No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona along the way.
Forty minutes away from the Final Four, his lifetime goal, Mack's Musketeers were blasted 83-59 by No. 1 Gonzaga in the West Region final.
"We had gone from being a surefire NCAA Tournament team to barely making the tournament,'' Mack said. "We had a six-game losing streak. We had lots of injuries, but once we got in, it was like a weight off everyone's shoulders.
"We got right to the brink of the Final Four. It's a hard feeling, walking off that floor and seeing them setting up the stage, and one team gets to stay. Getting that far was a special moment. But you want to get it done.''
That was Mack's only Elite Eight and his fourth trip to the Sweet 16. And that doesn't include the 2019-20 season, a Final Four-ready Louisville team (24-7, 15-5 ACC) that was one of his best. But COVID created the what-might-have-been questions that will never be answered.
USF CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said he was attracted by Mack's consistent track record, his success in the transfer portal, his building of impressive coaching staffs and his ability to not only reach the NCAA Tournament, but to win games there.
"Winners win,'' Higgins said. "And that's what we intend to do at the University of South Florida.''
Here are some of the teams that Mack has defeated as a head coach:
Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Cincinnati, Clemson, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Kentucky, LSU, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Purdue, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Tennessee, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.
"Chris Mack's resume speaks for itself,'' Higgins said.
So does his approach.
ESPN commentator Seth Greenberg, the USF men's basketball head coach from 1996-2003, said Mack's teams "play with a chip.'' Mack coaches the same way. Greenberg describes it as "arrogant confidence.''
Colorado coach Tad Boyle once said Mack's teams "definitely have a plan.'' They are well-disciplined defensively and "don't beat themselves.''
If there's a mismatch, Mack is bound to find it, putting his players in position to exploit that advantage. Mack's teams are always described as physical, but they also play with an overall toughness that's often disruptive in real-time.
"I'd like us to be versatile, sort of interchangeable, a team that really plays quickly from defense to offense, trying to get the best shot we possibly can,'' Mack said. "On defense, we're going to be all man-to-man, aggressive man-to-man, maybe mix in the zone occasionally.''
In the age of analytics, Mack's teams rely on the time-honored staples of rebounding and defense, usually hovering near middle-of-the-pack when it comes to 3-point attempts. He's not opposed to shooting from range, but won't be obsessed by it, either.
"We want to be a team that gets the best available shot,'' Mack said. "I don't aspire to shoot a certain number of 3-pointers. I think your best percentage is getting to the free-throw line.
"We're going to have a lot of skill on the perimeter this year, really at all five positions. I don't get hung up on the volume (of shots). I just want to get up and down the floor quickly and get the best available shot.''
Mack wants five skilled players on the floor who can all shoot, pass and dribble. He likes long and athletic guards, along with springy, versatile forwards. Ideally, he'll have a stereotypical physical center, along with a long and athletic big player, a 6-foot-9-ish, change-of-pace option. Soft players need not apply. Mack's bigs will always have physical and mental toughness.
Mack said he's a composite of all the head coaches he has worked under — the intensity of Jim Crews, the aggression (and sometimes biting wit) of Pete Gillen, the humanity and people skills of Skip Prosser and the impeccably organized detail of Sean Miller.
USF's standards will be clear, Mack said.
"You've got to be competitive to play in my program,'' Mack said. "If you can't compete, then I'm probably not going to be the coach for you. Show up on time, have the same attitude (each day), bring the same effort, have the same energy. Those are really the non-negotiables.
"Undisciplined players are coached by undisciplined coaches. I think that so many coaches are afraid of confrontation. I am not. A lot of times you can do more with honey (praise) than giving your salt all the time. I like to be a truth-teller. As I tell the guys, if you want to know where you stand, come up to my office and I'll tell you. You might not want to hear it, but I'm going to be as honest as I can be from my perspective. We're going to hold guys to the highest standard — for sure.''
Mack will hold himself to that same standard.
And that's the blueprint for continuing USF's upward trajectory. He wants the Bulls to reach the highest levels.
"We're going to win,'' said Mack with the conviction of a man who's accustomed to chasing his sport's biggest goals.
–#GoBulls–
