No Bulls taken in NBA Draft

No real surprise here, but USF seniors Melvin Buckley and McHugh Mattis weren't among the 60 players selected in Thursday's NBA Draft. I wouldn't surprised if we learn Friday that one or both have latched on to play on a summer-league team, giving them an outside chance at competing for a roster spot as an undrafted rookie.

-- Still some grey areas that could change between now and two-a-days in August, so I don't want to say this is set in stone, but it looks like five members of USF's recruiting class -- defensive end Claude Davis, linebacker Calvin Sutton, tight end Kevenski McGee, running back Josh Bellamy and offensive lineman Lawrence McCoy -- will be this year's nonqualifiers. We've confirmed Davis and Sutton and know Bellamy won't be there this summer and is still working on his diploma. USFnation.com has reported McGee as an academic casualty, and all signs point to McCoy missing the cut as well. So it's not as bad as last year, when 11 signees quit or failed to qualify, though three of them qualified in time to enroll and join the team in January.

What I'm curious about is how the roster will shake out. The number I got Thursday was 113 players currently rostered, and that figure will have to drop to 105 when two-a-days start, getting a bump up to 110 when fall classes start. I count 60 returning scholarship players from last season and 21 players from signing day, with quarterback Carlton Hill expected to be the 82nd player on scholarship and as many as three full rides unaccounted for.

How tough is the competition to make the 105? Kids who want to be walk-ons are being turned away. Brantley Poe, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound offensive tackle from Lakeland George Jenkins, visited campus this week, but was told there weren't any guaranteed spots available. His father David said Thursday that Poe will likely accept an invitation to be a preferred walk-on at Auburn, though he'd like to play somewhere closer to home. We told you earlier this week about receiver Ched Cherry, who visited USF last week and hopes to walk on with the Bulls, but he hasn't applied for admission to school yet -- getting in on your own is a standard prerequisite for any walk-on hopeful, and he's way behind in that process.

Comments

[Jack Black]

Are those the only 5 non-qualifiers Greg, or could there be more?

How many have been confirmed to be qualified and enrolled?

[Greg Auman]

At this point, we're largely going by what kids tell us on grades -- hard to do it any other way. And Bellamy and Sutton aren't done deals yet -- they could get grades in time for fall enrollment. We could get a surprise one way or the other, but I think five is the accurate number based on the academic situations right now.

[ryan]

Thanks for the update on the recruits, Greg. I feel bad for all the non-qualifiers, but have to admit this list is a thousand times better than last year. Of course, you hate to lose recruits...however, I guesstimate that only Claude Davis would have been able to compete for playing time right away and he was projected as a non-qualifier back when he signed. Any predictions on freshman contributers of the 2007 class (obviously negating spring qualifiers like Mike Ford). Seemingly, McClain has a good shot at playing time, but Richard Kelly could challenge for fullback as well (though we don't seem to use I formations a lot); and Sinclair could have a shot at strong safety (seemingly our only true weakness on defense, if Nate Allen is as good at free safety as advertised).

[Jim]

Thanks Greg, maybe kids will learn that grades and studying do matter. I agree with the other post by Ryan, this is a thousand times better than last year. I like that now USF can tell walk-on's we probably don't have a spot for you. It shows how the program is growing.