Men’s Basketball, NCAA Third Round, 2012 is inscribed on a green and gold banner rising high above the court of the newly renovated Sun Dome during South Florida’s 2012-13 season opener against Central Florida. The crowd cheered as the banner made its way up, staring proudly at the newest symbol of progress for the Bulls basketball program.
It was a monumental moment that put the exclamation point on last season’s success while also making clear the great expectations for the season that lies ahead.
For fans of USF’s men’s basketball, it is difficult to move on to a new season. The once-lowly Bulls, picked to finish 14th out of the 15 teams in the Big East before last season, posted a school-record 12 conference wins en route to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992. Once there, the Bulls made it past the first round for the first time ever.
Now the hope is that last season is a prologue for what is to come. The 2012-13 Bulls, led by last season’s Big East Coach of the Year Stan Heath, return with an experienced group that includes four of their top five scorers from a year ago.
In addition to simply retaining consistent scoring threats in Victor Rudd, Anthony Collins, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, and Jawanza Poland, Heath has focused on improvement for his team on and off the court. Heath had his players carrying 100-pound weights up and down the court as part of their preseason boot camp.
Rudd was one of the players who benefited the most from the 6 a.m. workouts. He has bulked up from 201 pounds to 235 to give him a much bigger presence and the ability to play inside or step back to shoot three pointers.
Solid preparation leading up to the season is the only way to stay competitive in a cutthroat conference like the Big East, which is among the nation’s top conferences. At the start of the season there are four Top 25 teams: No. 2 Louisville, No. 9 Syracuse, No. 22 Notre Dame, and No. 24 Cincinnati.
Even within a tough conference like the Big East, USF is gaining respect and recognition. Big East coaches picked the Bulls to finish eighth this season, their highest-ever position in a preseason conference poll, and an improvement from last season aided by their fourth place finish.
Despite a disappointing 74-56 loss to in-state rival UCF to open the season on Saturday night, the team is determined to not let the setback deflate the hopes of another groundbreaking season for their basketball program. Poland, a senior, chalked it up to a tough non-conference opponent, but was quick to point out that the Bulls had a lot of those last season too.
Heath was less accepting of the loss, but still echoed the player’s sentiment that it was only one game.
“There are a lot of games left. This team is going to continue to get better, and this team is going to continue to work…” he said. “We need some time to really figure some things out.”
Only time will tell if these great expectations are fulfilled. For now, a fresh optimism surrounding the program is fueling the fire for an even better banner to hang upon the rafters of the Sun Dome.
Samantha Ouimette is the sports editor of The Crow’s Nest. She can be reached at sports@crowsneststpete.com.
