Senior guard Selton Miguel drives towards the basket. Miguel led the bench in scoring with 18 points in the 96-52 victory at the Yuengling Center on Nov.9.
Courtesy of Jorden Pompey
By Jorden Pompey
Head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and the University of South Florida men’s basketball squad start off the season 1-0 after their 96-52 win against South Carolina State University.
The Bulls defense kept the Bulldogs in the doghouse forcing 21 turnovers and holding the bulldogs to zero percent from the three-point line.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, the defense got five kills which Abdur-Rahim refers to getting three defensive stops in a row to get one kill.
The fast-paced defense converted to 27 points off those forced turnovers.
“On the defensive end, man we can be really special, and we just got to hang our hats on that end of the floor,” senior guard Chris Youngblood said.
Youngblood led the team in scoring with 19 points shooting 66% from the field.
Freshman guard Jayden Reid debuted his South Florida career with a double-double, posting 11 points and 10 assists and leading the team in steals with five.
Senior guard Selton Miguel produced 18 points making seven of his 11 shot attempts.
Junior guard Sam Hines Jr. finished with 12 points and his one-hand posterize dunk over three players was featured as the number one play on SportsCenter.
“I don’t really see them when I’m in the air, I just think take off and finish,” Hines Jr. said.
Hines Jr., one of the three players who returned to the team, likes how smooth the transition has been with his new teammates. His teammates and the coaches hold each other accountable and trust each giving them the confidence they need on the court.
With the biggest win in USF men’s basketball in over 40 years, Abdur-Rahim says this is part of the process to grow and succeed.
“I got a bigger vision in mind and this is part of it. This is part of the step every time, every chance we get to take the court. It’s an opportunity for us to get better,” Abdur-Rahim said.
USF and the SoFlo Rodeo return to the Yuengling Center on Wednesday Nov. 15 to play Central Michigan University at 7 p.m.
