Men's basketball Stan Heath will address the media Tuesday in anticipation of the start of preseason practice Friday night in the Sun Dome, so I figured it's a good time to catch up on a few things ...
-- From an injury standpoint, all players are fully cleared for practice except for junior forward Aris Williams, who hasn't played since December and has been limited has he recovers from January surgery on his right knee. Williams has not been cleared for contact drills but can work out with the team.
-- Minor roster shuffling, as three of last year's walk-ons, Jared Rubens, Bobby Torres and Montana Heirman, are no longer with the team. Guard Eddie Lovett is the lone holdover among the walk-ons, with 6-foot-10 center Mo Esseghir joining the team to provide depth behind Kentrell Gransberry. Rubens, who played four minutes last season, has transferred to Miami, where he won't likely be part of the basketball team. Heath will hold open walk-on tryouts on Sunday, filling the last spots on his roster.
-- No known commitments yet, but I can report that Heath made a personal visit to point guard Damier Pitts last week, following up on an official campus visit Pitts made two weekends ago. Pitts will visit Marshall this weekend and has plans to visit South Carolina before making a decision, likely between those three schools. USFbullseye.com reported Monday night that Charlotte (N.C.) forward Ken Gabriel, who visited USF with Pitts, opted instead to commit to Auburn.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Greg, what did Stan have to say today?
Posted by: Reality | October 09, 2007 at 11:37 PM
Fear the Turtle!!!
Andres, stick to Twerps hoops and USF football. IT will make you a happier fan.
Posted by: Reality | October 09, 2007 at 04:02 PM
Ill try to make it for practice.... im a former terp! so i love college basketball, but now that im a Bull and they have made strides to improve the BB team its worth going out and supporting them.... I hope Heath pulls a Jim Leavitt with the program
Posted by: Andres Rojas | October 09, 2007 at 09:40 AM
Practice is from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday.
Posted by: G.A. | October 09, 2007 at 09:06 AM
Rivals is reporting that Gabriel committed to Auburn today. So he is not on the board any longer. Pitts and Rush seem to be it for now.
Posted by: NormalBull | October 08, 2007 at 10:45 PM
I think i will be the only guy in the gym on friday night watching the first practice..
what time is it open to the public?
7:30 greg?
im very excited about Stan Heath. This will be my first year purchasing season tickets.
Posted by: Ari | October 08, 2007 at 10:42 PM
What's this basketball you talk of?
Posted by: Delirious Football Fan | October 08, 2007 at 10:39 PM