Guard Simmons sets visit with USF
One more piece of basketball recruiting news to finish off a busy day: Jeremie Simmons, the 6-foot-2 guard from Mott Community College in Flint, Mich., said Wednesday night that he has scheduled an official campus visit to USF on March 28.
Simmons, who led Mott to victory Tuesday in the opening round of the Division II national junior college tournament in Danville, Ill., said USF coach Stan Heath was on hand to watch Tuesday's game, and while the Bulls haven't been recruiting him long, he's very interested in their program.
"I just think it's a good place to come and play," said Simmons, who plays again Thursday afternoon.
Simmons' coach at Mott had said he had scheduled a visit with Butler, but Simmons said USF was the only visit he's scheduled. He's also considering Butler, Valparaiso and George Mason, with Alabama jumping into contention in the last week.
Here's the game story from Tuesday's win from the Flint Journal -- Simmons had 19 points despite struggling from the field, according to the story. Expect more basketball news on Thursday. ...
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Bob? Bob where you at? I thought you guaranteed Simmons would go to Butler as Butler is the only place he scheduled a visit? Wait, he hasnt even scheduled a visit with Butler!
Posted by: mike | March 20, 2008 at 08:13 AM
I hope Stan gets someone..........I know Ari has finally been let in on the secret that we are not getting Brumbaugh, thanks Greg for letting him down softly..........
When you are looking at the 38th best player in the philly metro area, what else do I need to say?
Enjoy last place USF fan!!
I heard they are renaming the Big East Tournament the Stan Heath Invitational, since its' inclusion of all teams is the only way he was going to see MSG.
Posted by: reality | March 20, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Warning: anybody that is about to post on this blog please don't respond to the post made above by *******.Do not even write he/she/it name in any furure post either.Do not feed this person's ego or anything else.Trust me I have dealt with posters like ******* before and almost always if they are ignored long enough they will claw in a hole and go away.Little fish in a big ocean don't last long, and that is what's going to happen as USF gets better.Soon ******* won't have a POT to piss in or a WINDOW to throw it out of.
Rememeber you have been warned!
Posted by: The Champ | March 20, 2008 at 11:53 AM
We would have won the Big East. We would have won CUSA if the best team in the country wasnt in the CUSA.
Posted by: ucf fan | March 20, 2008 at 11:59 AM
I do believe Alabama has Ron Steele returning and his younger brother signed so they are set at PG for the next 4 seasons to come.
Mark Frederick Gottfried may not be a great coach with preparation and in game decision making but he can flat out recruit.If they are even interested in Simmons wheather as a 1 or 2 speaks highly of the young man.
Posted by: The Champ | March 20, 2008 at 12:16 PM
UCF Fan, you wouldnt win a game in the Big East...who are you kidding? I am probably one of the biggest usf basketball fans and also one of the most negative/cynical posters..but UCF would win the big east? who is in C-USA besides Memphis thats worth anything. Dont post in here man, you sound like a moron.
PS mark my words, Memphis will be knocked out of the tournament before the elite 8, they are not battle tested with their pansy schedule. You might as well join the Atlantic-10.
Posted by: Herman Momart | March 20, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I don't think that is the real Reality. Normally he posts some pretty good material. He is pessimistic, for sure, but being a fan doesn't mean being a blind followed. When watching this team play, there have been several problems, and unless Stan pulls in a great class this year, we're in serious trouble next season.
Posted by: Dave W | March 20, 2008 at 12:28 PM
No Dave, it was me. I just can't take the blind faith many on this board give to Stan.
Give me something tangible.
I see KG leaving, and no front court AT ALL left or coming in.
How can I be optimistic?
Poor Ari strung all his hopes on a kid that isnt going to college at all, but I am sure he can drop a nice plug to keep all you guys happy, by saying if he was going to go to college, it would be at USF......come on Keith, drop that knowledge on us....
If he were getting the Morris twins from Living Faith, then Stan would be a savior. Getting this kid is a joke, especially when Mike Morrison was in his backyard and Stan let him go to George Mason.
This team is going to be woefully short next year in size and talent, and guys like Champ are going to be telling you to wait another year.......NO
Posted by: reality | March 20, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Memphis would win it all. They are no match for the pansy teams in the Big Least. UCF will be in a BCS conferense soon. It wont be the big East though.
Posted by: ucf fan | March 20, 2008 at 01:08 PM
I usually dont get into it with UCF fans because I dont really care about football or heard of them before I moved to florida but to say The Big East has pansy basketball teams is just asinine. And to talk about USF or UCF having a serious basketball team are both asinine statements. BUT The Big east is considered a weak football conference and a powerhouse in basketball. conference USA is considered a scrub conference in any sport. Act like you watched sports outside of UCF before.
And Memphis "would" or will win it all? You cant go beating UCF, Tulsa, UAB and UNC Charlotte and then be prepared for the tournament. They played one tough game in the regular season in Tennesse (SEC isnt much better) and lost. I'd put my money on a battle tested team all day.
Posted by: Herman Momart | March 20, 2008 at 01:22 PM
Sorry UCF fan. Was at the game this year when USF whipped UCF at the Sun Dome. If you can't beat the second worst team in the Big East says lots about your B-Ball program, but for that matter you can't seem win against any Major Conference in any sport. (But you do have the BEST high school footbal stadium in Florida)
Posted by: Wayne | March 20, 2008 at 01:55 PM
Memphis is their own worse ememy with their terrible FT shooting.Nobody is more athletic then the Tigers and they are just as exposive offensively as UNC, buth can they make shots namely free throws in the last 5 minutes of the game?
Posted by: The Champ | March 20, 2008 at 02:09 PM
The USF-UCF game highlighted one thing for me this year- the state of Florida is a lot better for football. It's not a bad thing; I would rather excel in one sport and be mediocre in the other than be average in both. We're about to really excel in football, and if trading basketball for a BCS game is the deal, I'll make it. UCF gets to lose to ECU and Southern Miss each year while also maintaining a basketball program that is inferior to ours. I have no doubt that our basketball team would have won 18-20 games in C-USA. The UAB and UCF pillowfights attest to our relative strength.
Anyways, I think Simmons is my top choice for a guard (we only should bring in one). I like the JUCO route for the guard spot because there isn't really a high school player to get excited enough about to keep him around for 4 years. The same is true up front, where Goins, Sutton, and Akol are each in need of serious improvement before being impact players, so we should only take one project player.
GA- should we count on BJ Daniels to be a basketball player? If we could get good 10 minutes a game from him, it would be a huge boost.
Posted by: Dave W | March 20, 2008 at 02:13 PM
I would not expect quality minutes from B.J. Daniels in 2008-09. Nothing against Daniels, but guard is plenty deep already, so not much room for a freshman walk-on who won't be available to practice regularly until weeks into the season.
Posted by: G.A. | March 20, 2008 at 02:42 PM
we didnt play to good when we played USF we can do better
Posted by: ucf fan | March 20, 2008 at 02:49 PM
Herman..
Memphis will play anyone.
They beat Georgetown handily in the regular season.
They also trounced Gonzaga
Posted by: Ari Hinkelberger | March 20, 2008 at 04:46 PM
I think Daniel will have a lot of fun playing with the basketball team, but I'll be surprised if he plays any but a few clean-up minutes.
Posted by: Ken | March 20, 2008 at 07:46 PM
Guard really isn't as deep as everyone thinks.
Jones has minutes locked up.. But we don't have a single decent slasher on the team.
Vedejo can get to the rack a little bit...but he really isn't respected.
If you can show an ability to get to the rack, you will play. We have NOBODY that can do that.
Posted by: Ari Hinkelberger | March 20, 2008 at 09:28 PM
Greg, you should be on the lookout as Rutgers fan has called your reporting sloppy and lazy. Check out Rutgers men's basketball Rivals website....
Posted by: Reality | March 20, 2008 at 10:00 PM
i dont think greg gives two cents what futgers fans think
Posted by: mike | March 20, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Amusing. Not exactly sure what was lazy or sloppy. If I'm the only person reporting something, how am I lazy? Looks like one guy thought I wrote that St. Benedict's was in NYC, but I didn't. I just like that I now write for the "Tampa Bay Tribune." I have stuff in TBT*, but still ...
Posted by: G.A. | March 20, 2008 at 11:33 PM
That is why Rutgers is the worst school in america.......the people think they are ivy league and they think their sports are good. 2 incorrect thoughts.
Posted by: Reality | March 21, 2008 at 07:24 AM
It's hard to get too excited when you see how difficult it is to win in the Big East. Plus we've seen recruits get stolen away too many times. Can we sign them already? Flint, Michigan is known for producing great BBall players but it is hard to see it happening since that is Big Ten country.
Posted by: Tom | March 21, 2008 at 11:42 PM