Today's links: Lots of Bulls basketball

To advance tonight's men's basketball game at Wake Forest, we have a feature on USF guard Jesus Verdejo and how his first sport, boxing, has helped make him a better basketball player. This week's USF notebook leads off with tonight's debut for redshirt freshman Aaron Holmes, and you'd be surprised to see where George Selvie ranks in the Big East when it comes to sacks in conference play.

Freshman guard Dominique Jones practiced as normal with the Bulls on Tuesday night after turning his ankle Monday, so he should be fine for tonight's game. USF's women got a 68-58 win against Oregon in Cancun on Tuesday -- here's the story from USF's Mike Hogan -- and the Bulls saw the season debut of midyear transfer Brittany Denson, who played 18 minutes and got four points, five rebounds and two blocks.

We'll have an update later Wednesday after linebacker Kion Wilson of Pearl River Community College signs with USF. This is the start of the signing period for midyear junior college transfers; Wilson is a (corrected) four-star recruit (according to Scout.com) from Jacksonville who should be a key part of USF's recruiting class.

The big question for Bulls fans is what they think of next year's USF-UCF football game in Orlando, which got a whole lot bigger with Tuesday's news that standout running back Kevin Smith will be back for his senior year. Especially if he's able to break Barry Sanders' rushing record with a strong bowl game, Smith will have all kinds of attention on him early next season, and the Bulls' rush defense will take a hit in the middle with linebacker Ben Moffitt graduating, along with defensive tackles Richard Clebert and Allen Cray. A big part of the pecking order for the Big East in 2008 will come down to other talented underclassmen -- Rutgers' Ray Rice, West Virginia's Steve Slaton and Pat White -- and whether they're back for their senior years.

Comments

[holly wynn]

i really like this school.
it is a great school. my niece is going to come to this school she is
14!

[chocolate]

Unfortunately, most USF Football players are unable to read.

[John H]

I still think that players would be better off if they finished their degrees. How many players last long enough and can support themselves for the rest of their lives with what they make in the NFL. The degree would be a good safety net.

We might not have lost a game if Julmiste had still been on the team.

[DELdaBULL]

Ari,

That (12:08) might have been your best football post ever. Josh Julmiste was a stud (I think he played tackle?). Either way our D line would have been menacing.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

You know how sick that defensive line would have been if we still had Josh Julmiste.. ?? Dude was super nasty.

I can't believe he couldn't put the bong down. The guy had NFL specs.

Imagine Julmiste on one end and Sevlie on the other. Could have been history making...

its a real shame.

[Tom]

We will shut down KS again next year. It's easy to key on him because ucf is so one dimensional. On defense we will simply reload. Did anyone see a major dropoff after Pat St. Louis, Josh Julmiste, and Stephen Nicholas left? I didn't. Donte Spires and Terrell McClain will fill in nicely. If we are able to keep Coach McCarney, our defensive line will be just as good.

[bullnight]

Yeah, what a stomping that one is. I figured once we played a decent team this would happen.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I think I am the only guy in the country watching this Wake Forest game on the internet.

I have issues.

[steve oneal]

hahah, hope you will be at USF/ucf 4th annual and LAST butt kickin game next year to see K.Smith get stopped agaon by a real defense. I would not care and maybe even wish ucf well, but their fans are such dumb-sses! I still don't get why ya'll find it necessary to post on USF blogs. Oh yea, it's JEALOUSY! What is going to make next year any different than this year or the other two years we BEAT ya'll? Wasn't K. Smith in the game this year? You know, the one we beat ya'll 64-12!! hahah is an appropiate name since ucf fans are such a JOKE! GO BULLS!!

[hahah]

While USF continues to recruit thugs with criminal records, UCF just posted a 2.7 team GPA and sold all 10,000 bowl tickets. Have fun pushing your 4,000!

[Bill]

hahahah, jealous? what do we have to be jealous about? ucf academics are on the same level as usf. if anyone should be jealous it should be you, ucf athletics will never beat usf at anything.

64-12

[hahahah]

First, Unfortunately most people out of USF don't get jobs.

Second, USF is gonna be in for a rude awakening next year.

Third, According to college.com, people who apply at USF are automatically classified as felons. The went on to state that USF grads are the number one supplier of cheeseburgers.

Stop being jealous!

[Marc R]

greg, you say kion wilson was a former five star recruit but according to who. scout had him 1 star in hs, rivals 2 star. now out of juco he is 3/4 star depending on who you look at.

[JKR]

As nice as it is to have a local rivalry so students can travel easily to road games, I'm not sure I want that game on the schedule anymore. If we keep winning it, it does little for our reputation; if we ever lose it, it will hurt our reputation quite a bit.

This season should make it quite plain how important a decent OOC schedule is - if our win against Auburn is a win against some mid-major, we're never #2; we're not in the Sun Bowl; and if you put a lot of value into things like momentum, we may not beat WVU.

[J]

I have to agree with Windbane, the goal of college is to get a job and maximize earning potential. With a football player that can be drafted high, if he's really concerned about his education, he could pay for his college at UCF with what he'll make in one game.

I hate to see Kevin Smith coming back because I think it's a bad move for him. The best senior RB in the draft is Mike Hart. This is the year for a RB to leave early. Next year's senior class will be sick at the RB position unless a lot of players leave early.

In answer to G.A.'s question about what everyone thinks about the UCF game next year. My response is who cares. It's just another weak non-conference game. We already have our big non-conference game with Kansas. Beyond that, I don't care if we play UCF or Middle Tenn. State, same thing.

[Dave W]

I think that anyone who willingly sets foot within a 15 mile radius of UCF gets stupider.

[JL]

55K is a decent RB. He would not have any record if he played in a better conference.

He is not at the level of McFadden, Ray Rice, Devine, et al.

He is somewhere between average and 1-sigma....for those who like graphs.

I have no hard feelings against UCF, and I hope they do well, but I am glad that we will not be playing them anymore after next year.

A solid win would be good to close out the series with another thumping!

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I have to agree with Windbane.

And out of all the sports that I would encourage my players to leave early if they were a top rated pick, it would be football. The chance of injury and you not being able to collect those millions is just to high.

[DELdaBULL]

I just hope he doesn't get hurt next year. His time to earn major dollars was/is right now. He is putting his future earns at risk for O'leary? I hope his mom has enough money to get an insurance policy on him ala Leinart's dad did for him.

[Windbane]

John H, getting an education is meant to help you get a job. The goal of college is getting a job.

[John H]

I think any college player who chooses to leave early should have to wait a year to play professionally. This would encourage players to get their degrees. Otherwise, what is the purpose of giving them a scholarship. As much as we all love sports, it's supposed to be about getting an education, not using college to promote yourself to a professional career.

[Albert]

I think George O'Leary is really stupid for telling Kevin Smith not to turn pro..

[Bill]

I think Kevin Smith is doing what he wants to do and I wish him the best of luck with his career. I hope he does well at UCF and in the NFL and would love to see him in a Bucs uniform. He will probably have a very similar year next year, tears up CUSA and gets stuffed by USF. I just hope Mike Ford and/or Jamar Taylor can turn in the same kind of rushing yards against our foes. GO BULLS!

[Al]

I think Kevin Smith is really smart for not turning pro.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

I think Kevin Smith is really stupid for not turning pro..

[Ari Hinkelberger]

No TV for the game tonight. YOu can watch it on the internet for 4.95 on the ACC Select package.

I thought I was going to be able to get to the game, but i am not leaving until friday - so I will probably purchase it.

http://acc.playonsports.tv/wfu/

[Santa]

Who is Kevin Smith? How many yards did he have against us last year.

Glad to see the UCF series coming to a close. Looking forward to the annual USF - Miami Thanksgiving weekend match up. UM is coming back in a big way, so that will be a nice annual series.

[Steve H]

First, I don't care about Smith...it's Ray Rice that I want out of college football.

Second, I'm super excited about the game tonight. Any idea if it'll be on TV tonight, or on the internet for free?

[Sandro]

I think that Kevin Smith will have a very similar game like he had this year. The competition that he plays against C-USA can't even compare to the defense that we have. I will say he will not get more then 80 rushing yards. Our offense should be much better next year since we finally realized what we have in Mike Ford.
GO BULLS !!!