It's only an exhibition, but USF coach Stan Heath saw enough Tuesday night in the Bulls' 110-79 win against Division II Florida Southern to expect a more explosive team in the regular season.
"Much more explosive," said Heath, whose team didn't score more than 80 in any game or exhibition last season. "It comes from defensive pressure ... This team has more offensive firepower, but I want it to maybe initiate from our defense."
Newcomers made a big splash -- junior center Jarrid Famous had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists without a turnover in 27 minutes, and freshman power forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, a King graduate, had 14 and eight off the bench.
"It felt good out there," said Famous, a 6-foot-11 center. "I think we played good as a team for being out there this time. We have a lot of things to work on."
Senior guard Mike Mercer, who tore his ACL in December and was reinstated to the team this fall after a dismissal in January following two arrests, looked like his old self -- 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Junior guard Dominique Jones, the Bulls' leading scorer the past two seasons, matched Famous with 20 points and added eight assists, also going without a turnover in his 25 minutes.
"You saw some bright spots out there, and you see some things we need to work on, like rebounding, giving up middle drives," Jones. "It's just everybody getting a feel for the college game. Jarrid did a real good job in his first Big East game. We've got a lot of work to do in practice, but we're going to work hard and get better at those things."
Heath is hoping a trio of freshman guards can help the Bulls' outside shooting, and Jordan Dumars -- Piston great Joe Dumars' son -- and Shaun Noriega each went 2-for-4 beyond the arc.
While it was an exhibition, the 110 points are the most in any game since Heath took over in 2007 -- the Bulls scored 100 against Florida Atlantic in his first season. The last time the Bulls scored that many points in a regular-season game was January 2002, in a 117-108 win against TCU.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
Best BB coach at USF so far was Bobby Paschal, followed by Lee Rose. Paschal led a couple teams to the tournament and also deep into the NIT with a squad of guys no taller than 6'7". I see Heath, however, taking the program to a higher level.
Posted by: Pancho | November 04, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Not uncharted territory, but it has been a while. This is the best team we've ever had. Remember those very good teams of years past played against significantly worse competition. And BB and Altron, much as I loved them, never lived up to their potential or our expectations--don't get me started on what a disaster that coach was, and the guy after him wasn't prepared for life in the BE.
Posted by: Ken | November 04, 2009 at 09:39 PM
Rick is right. He has made some great "moves" though. Hiring the assistant video coach and doing whatever he did with Famous' dad were two GREAT moves and are paying dividends.
Posted by: Reality | November 04, 2009 at 09:08 PM
Rick you obviously don't know anything about basketball because if you did then you'd know that Heath is turning this team around after the previous coach destroyed it. Get a clue
Posted by: Bill | November 04, 2009 at 07:11 PM
Can't wait to see the guys play-have to watch on the tube. Any tv schedules out there yet?
Posted by: Cat | November 04, 2009 at 07:05 PM
I remember when basketball was it at USF. I would take a Radenko Dobras or a BB Waldon and Altron Jackson led team against anything Heath has done. Why is he still there? maybe cause football is now the focus.
Posted by: Rick | November 04, 2009 at 06:58 PM
I can see us being a .500 team in fact i expect that we will. If Jones can stay fresher during the 2nd part of the our season then he has in the past we'll enjoy the finish a lot better.
Once Crater joins the team the octane level goes up. Getting Rivas back will let Famous play some PF where he'll rule.
Posted by: Vega | November 04, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Unchartered territory..getting excited about USF Basketball! Well, it has been awhile anyway.
Posted by: USFShep | November 04, 2009 at 03:49 PM
Good start for the Bulls... Just hope that Mercer has learned some things and that he really isn't the Mike Mercer of old anymore.
Posted by: MikeT | November 04, 2009 at 02:52 PM
Famous is the Truth!
Posted by: Reality | November 04, 2009 at 08:46 AM
Gobulls32, we know it is a D2 team, but last year's Bulls team might have lost that game. It is a ranked D2 team that will beat a lot of decent D1 teams. This Bulls team, compared to last year, has more depth, better shooting, and more height. It also seems like Jones might have his best season because of these factors.
Famous and Gilchrist, Famous and Fitzpatrick, or Gilchrist and Fitzpatrick is a much better combo of big men than we had last year. Put that together with Mercer and Jones and lights out shooting off the bench, this is a team that is light years ahead of last years.
Posted by: Pancho | November 04, 2009 at 08:39 AM
We've played easy teams in the past and not won as easily as this. We were supposed to win and we did. No one is expecting a BE title. Better players than last year should equal more victories than last year and shows Heath is heading the program in the right direction. No problem with being excited about any improvement with our BB program. There has not been much of a reason for any excitement regarding our Bulls for a LOOOOOONG time. Heath has at least shown improvement each season. GO BULLS!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | November 04, 2009 at 08:32 AM
What if USF lost like Syracuse did to Le Moyne? I am not sure how Syracuse fans are rationalizing that result but I am glad that is not our problem.
Posted by: BullBard | November 04, 2009 at 08:26 AM
This is a Big East team against a D2 school. Easy everyone. You don't think their coach wanted to look at his bench too during an exhibition game?
Let's see where this team is at the end of the non-conference schedule and how optimistic everyone is when the Big East run starts.
Love the Bulls but i'm also a realist.
Posted by: gobulls32 | November 04, 2009 at 07:37 AM
No running back on the football team has had the equivalent of a triple double, Turd, but nice try.
Posted by: Windbane | November 04, 2009 at 02:58 AM
---------
Wow, Windbane...do you take everything in life that seriously? That right there is a bit of hyperbole mixed with a dash of sarcasm. Maybe you need to take an English class with Leavitt.
Loosen up a bit and enjoy life, my man.
Posted by: Turd Ferguson | November 04, 2009 at 07:21 AM
Good game. Had a nice time and enjoyed seeing some of the new players. Finally a team with some size. Heath seems to be heading the team in the right direction. GO BULLS!
Posted by: Steve O'Neal | November 04, 2009 at 06:45 AM
No running back on the football team has had the equivalent of a triple double, Turd, but nice try.
Posted by: Windbane | November 04, 2009 at 02:58 AM
Is Heath going to go with a four point guard rotation, with each point guard getting just 10 minutes of floor time apiece?
And then when one of them racks up a triple-double, is Heath going to bench him?
Posted by: Turd Ferguson | November 03, 2009 at 10:54 PM
I've always believed in Heath. Looking forward to watching the Bulls play Georgetown at the "Phone Booth" in Feb.
Go Bulls!
Posted by: Ari Hinkelberger | November 03, 2009 at 10:13 PM
Great to see a highly touted recruit (Famous) really come through. Wow, can he run the court! I hadn't known much about Fitzpatrick, but he looks very promising, and Dumars and Noriega, as promised, look like real shooters. Gilchrist looked to be in better shape than last year, but still nothing like his hype.
Posted by: Ken | November 03, 2009 at 10:12 PM