247 Sports Writer projects USF as the AAC champion and highest G5.... as the #11 seed

https://247sports.com/longformartic...-bowl-projections-for-2024-225422712/#2347453

If anyone feels inclined to help


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It is a mess, I'm still a mess, but I wanted to share some thoughts with you all.

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he has been removed from the site already

Very good read

Reports coming out that Nick Saban is retiring.

Anyone know what this is about? Coaching lock in? Spring ball for strategy?

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EDIT: looks like it was deleted. Maybe confirmation that the coaching staff was locked in for next season?

Slow start but bulls climbing back.

Down 11 to 7 with Knox going to the line for 3

Game on ESPNU

HC Alex Golesh was in the BA and hit up Gaither among several stops.

Matt Merritt (RB coach) was at Clearwater Academy International among his stops

I'll update as I'm able to confirm more stops

USF Press Release




TAMPA, Fla. (January 12, 2024) – The University of South Florida men’s basketball team returned to the friendly confines of the Yuengling Center on Friday for an American Athletic Conference matchup with Rice on ESPNU. Kasean Pryor scored 27 points in the second half and finished with a career-high 29 points to lead the comeback victory for South Florida. The Bulls defeated the Owls 81-73.



With the win, South Florida improved to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the AAC, while Rice fell to 6-10 overall and 0-3 in league play. The Bulls came back from being down 12 points with 14:09 left on the clock, for their largest come-from-behind victory of the season.



Pryor tied a program record with 27 points in the second half. He set the USF record with 15 made free throws in a half. He finished the game with a free-throw percentage of .938 (15-of-16) and is now tied for the ninth-best performance from the line by a USF player. Pryor became the first Bulls player to make 15 free throws in a game since David Collins did it against Stony Brook on March 20, 2019.



The Bulls moved to 2-1 in AAC play, which is the best AAC start since the 2019-20 season. USF has started league play 2-1 three times in 11 seasons. South Florida moved to 8-2 in home games, which is the second-best home record to start a year in the last 11 seasons, behind the best home record of 9-1 in 2018-19. The Bulls started 8-2 at home during the 2019-20 campaign.



The Owls started the game on a 7-0 run, but Kobe Knox rattled off four unanswered points to cut the deficit to three, 7-4. After Mekhi Mason made a free throw, Selton Miguel knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 8-7. Rice added a 3-pointer and took an 11-7 lead with 16 minutes left in the opening stanza.



South Florida outscored Rice 10-5 over the next 4:42 of play. Kasean Pryor blocked a shot on the defensive end and then hustled to the offensive end for a slam dunk to force Rice to burn a timeout. The Bulls led 17-16 with 11:19 left until the break.



The Owls went on a 12-0 run and took a 28-18 lead at the under-eight media timeout.



The Bulls answered with a 7-0 run, led by Chris Youngblood with five points, and cut the deficit to 28-24. The Owls went on a 6-2 run and extended their lead to 34-26 with 3:42 left in the half. Rice added a 4-0 run and extended its lead to 12 points, 40-28. Knox drained a 3-pointer before the buzzer and cut the deficit to 40-31 at the break.



Rice outscored South Florida 12-9 to start the second half. The Owls extended their lead to 52-40 at the first media timeout of the second half. The Bulls went on an 11-8 run and cut the deficit to nine, 60-51, with 11:36 left on the clock.



South Florida battled back and went on a 6-0 run. The Bulls held the Owls scoreless for 2:46 on the clock. USF cut the Rice lead to five, 62-57, with 7:58 left in the game. The Bulls went on a 7-4 run and cut the deficit to 66-64 with 4:15 left on the clock. Pryor capped off the run with a steal and a dunk in transition.



After Keanu Dawes made two free throws, Pryor scored all of USF’s six points for a 6-0 run. The Bulls took a 70-68 lead with 2:02 left in regulation. Pryor stayed hot for the Bulls on both ends of the court. He scored 19 of the last 22 USF points. South Florida went on to win it 81-73.



Pryor recorded a career-high 29 points. He posted a career-high 15 made free throws, a career-high five blocks, and a career-high five steals. He added two assists. Miguel finished with 16 points. He added four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Knox added a 15-point performance, his fifth game in double digits. He dished out two assists. Youngblood closed out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. He brought down four rebounds to go along with four assists, two blocks, and one steal. Sam Hines Jr. led the Bulls with seven rebounds. Jayden Reid tied for a team-high five assists.



The USF bench outscored the Rice bench 22-11. The South Florida bench has outscored its opponents in 12 of the 14 games on the season.



Max Fiedler led Rice with a double-double behind 19 rebounds and 17 points. Mekhi Mason led the Owls with 18 points. He added seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Alem Huseinovic finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.



Notables

· Kasean Pryor tied a program record with 27 points in the second half. He set the USF record with 15 made free throws in a half. He finished the game with a free-throw percentage of .938 (15-of-16) and is now tied for the ninth-best performance from the line by a USF player. Pryor became the first Bulls player to make 15 free throws in a game since David Collins did it against Stony Brook on March 20, 2019.

· Kasen Pryor recorded a career-high 29 points. He posted a career-high 15 made free throws, a career-high five blocks, and a career-high five steals. He added two assists.

· Selton Miguel finished with 16 points, his 12th game in double figures and his 10th straight. He added four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

· Kobe Knox added a 15-point performance, his fifth game in double digits. He dished out two assists.

· Chris Youngblood collected 12 points. It was his 11th game in double figures. He brought down four rebounds to go along with four assists, two blocks, and one steal.

· The Bulls moved to 2-1 in AAC play, which is the best AAC start since the 2019-20 season. USF has started league play 2-1 three times in 11 seasons.

· South Florida moved to 8-2 in home games, which is the second-best home record to start a year in the last 11 seasons, behind the best home record of 9-1 in 2018-19. The Bulls started 8-2 at home during the 2019-20 campaign.

· The USF bench outscored the Rice bench 22-11. The South Florida bench has outscored its opponents in 12 of the 14 games on the season.



Next Up

South Florida is back on the road for a pivotal matchup with Memphis on Thursday, Jan. 18. The Bulls and Tigers are slated for a 7 p.m. ET tip on either ESPN or ESPN2.

NJCAA first team All-American Kasean Pryor commits to South Florida.

STORY

7-11 rice at the 16min mark

In case anyone was wondering here it went

Everyone knows how much I dislike FSU but I’m starting to wonder if there is some conspiracy to pile on them. I’m sure they did what is alleged but I’m sure they are far from alone but so far the only one I have seen get called on it.

I caught up to Kevin Knox I, father of five-star 2024 small forward Karter Knox, while he was sitting in an airplane and got a quickie update. Karter was named MVP of the Overtime Elite Pro Day. CAAR was up to OTE in Atlanta recently to spend some time with Knox. Three schools that Knox consistently mentions are Kentucky, Louisville and USF.


Kentucky is where Knox's oldest brother Kevin Knox II, class of 2017, attended school for one season so Karter has known/had a relationship with John Calipari since his brother's recruitment. Louisville head coach Kenny Payne was Kevin's lead recruiter at Kentucky so Karter has also known/had a relationship with him since his brother's recruitment.

I reached out to Kevin Knox I to set up an interview with Karter. I'll keep you posted on that.

Golesh up in Tally with his coach Thomson to fight for more pay to HS coaches. Making the rounds and making good friends in the HS ranks.

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It has to be ironic from the PAC12 perspective, b/c they had an opportunity to be the first big conference to move their inventory to non-linear TV, i.e Amazon and Apple. It's the future and they decided to mortgage it for a short term deal with the Big12, that will likely face a deterioration of TV $$$ for their next TV deal. This ga are changing...again

CB Brent Austin from Jmu

OL Prince Uzebu from Vandy

Pete Carrol, Nick Saban and now Bill Belichick. Quite the changing of the guard the last two days.

At least we are not an embarrassment on the road. UAB 75 USF 71.

Normal