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TAMPA, Fla. (December 22, 2023) – The University of South Florida men’s basketball team returned to action on Friday with a contest against UAlbany inside the Yuengling Center. Brandon Stroud recorded a double-double, while Chris Youngblood and Kasean Pryor both finished with 20 or more points. The Bulls (6-4) defeated the Great Danes (7-6) 89-73.



It is the third time this season, that the Bulls had five players in double figures. It is the fourth time this season that USF has had four or more players score in double figures. The Bulls limited the Great Danes to just 27 points in the second half, which is the fifth lowest for UAlbany in a half this season. It was the sixth time this season that USF held an opponent to 27 or fewer points in a half.



The Bulls opened the game on an 11-4 run as the game went to the first media timeout. During the run, Hines recorded a put-back dunk, while Youngblood added four points.



The two sides traded baskets over the next five minutes of play, as USF took a 25-20 lead into the second media timeout of the first stanza. During the stretch, Kobe Knox knocked down a 3-pointer, while Youngblood added four points.



Miguel got hot from behind the arc and accounted for six of the eight points during an 8-5 run by the Bulls. USF held a 33-25 lead with 6:45 left until the half. The Great Danes answered with a 14-4 run and took their first lead of the game, 39-38, with 3:08 left until the break.



The Bulls were unfazed and responded with a run of their own. South Florida ended the half on a 9-7 run, as the Bulls knocked down five free throws down the stretch. Sebastian Thomas hit a half-court buzzer-beater to end the half, but USF took a 47-46 lead into the break.



The Bulls shot 51.6 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from behind the 3-point line in the opening half.



The Bulls started the second half on a 10-7 run. During the run, Pryor accounted for six points, including two dunks. The Bulls held a 57-53 lead with 15:50 left in regulation.



Over the next four minutes of play, South Florida outscored UAlbany 7-5 and extended its lead to 64-58. The Bulls utilized five free throws during that stretch. The two sides traded baskets until the next media timeout at 9:44, which saw USF with a 68-62 lead.



The Bulls picked up the intensity on the defensive end of the court and held the Great Danes to no made field goals for 6:26. The Bulls went on a 14-2 run and limited the Great Danes to just two made free throws. The run was started by a Brandon Stroud dunk. South Florida held an 83-66 lead with 3:50 left in regulation.



UAlbany outscored USF 7-6 for the remainder of the game, but the Bulls went on to win the game 89-73. The Bulls held the Great Danes to just 27.3 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from 3-point range in the second half. South Florida forced 11 turnovers in the second half and finished with 20 for the game.



For the third time this season, the Bulls had five guys finish in double-figure. Youngblood led the way with a season-high 23 points, one shy of tying his career best. He added four assists, three rebounds, a block, and a steal. Pryor posted a career-high 21 points with eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Hines added a 13-point performance to go along with five rebounds and one steal. Stroud produced his first double-double at USF with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He added two steals. Miguel finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.



Amar’e Marshall went for a team-high 19 points for the Great Danes. Sebastian Thomas and Jonathan Beagle each recorded 17 points, while Marcus Jackson added 10 points.



The Bulls held the advantage in bench points, 14-5. South Florida outrebounded UAlbany 40-37. USF forced 20 turnovers and turned those into 21 points off turnovers. The Bulls brought down 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 22 second-chance points.



Notables

· Chris Youngblood led the way with a season-high 23 points, one shy of tying his career best. It is the seventh time he has recorded double-digit points.

· Kasean Pryor posted a career-high 21 points and notched his third game in double figures.

· Sam Hines Jr. added a 13-point performance for his fourth game in double digits on the season.

· Brandon Stroud produced his first double-double at USF with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Selton Miguel finished the game with 12 points, his eighth game in double figures and his sixth straight.

· It is the fourth time this season that USF has had four or more players score in double figures.

· It is the third time this season, that the Bulls had five players in double figures.

· The Bulls limited the Great Danes to just 27 points in the second half, which is the fifth lowest for UAlbany in a half this season.

· It was the sixth time this season that USF held an opponent to 27 or fewer points in a half.

· The South Florida bench has outscored the opponent’s bench in every game this season, including a 14-5 advantage against UAlbany.



Next Up

The Bulls close out 2023 inside the Yuengling Center on Friday, December 29. South Florida hosts Alabama State at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Kelly we know you are visiting Russ this week...if not already. Please tell him we all miss him and pray for him

So I had completely forgotten about the game. We're up 83-66 with 4 minutes left

This is by far and away the most incompetent bowl game I’ve ever been too. Im amazed they managed to open the doors.

If anyone knows who can fix the stat sheet, there is a -2 yard catch by Nay'Quan Wright that has been misattributed to Tramel Logan and last night, Jey'Quan Smith's first career catch was misattributed to Brock Burnette.

And while we're at it, there's still a problem from 2021 where Thad Mangum is credited with a catch by Holden Willis.

If anyone knows who can fix this stuff, please let me know. It's bush league to have such obvious errors go uncorrected for ages.

It was the first shutout since 2009 when they beat Charleston Southern 59-0 and the largest bowl margin of victory eclipsing the 2007 St Pete Bowl the Bulls won 41-14 over Memphis.

USF 38-35. Let’s go Bulls!

Thankful for the way our staff attacked it both our full-time coaches and our young staff and our recruiting staff as well leading the charge there and our millions of interns and what it takes to put a class of 25 together. How many people it takes to put together a class and the evaluation of HS and college kids and evaluating at the same time and putting together a class at the same time and add value to the class and culture. I’m proud we recruited home base really hard with 5 guys from the Bay Area and 4 from South Florida and 17 from Florida and 5 from Georgia and some from Tennessee and Ohio where my staff and I have relationships and that is our footprint is Georgia and Florida and those areas.

We still are addressing leads and we were not able to announce our transfers today and I’m so proud of how we have built with high school guys and college guys.

On where he wanted to focus on his class this cycle, there is no cycle or classes, it is one giant thing, I think you can see it positonally we signed a small HS class signed three guys and took a handful of transfers, that was our initial year. After a year we know what the heck the roster looks like and who you have to keep and who you have to keep and who can help you. We felt like we needed a big defensive class with HS guys and a handful of defensive guys, we signed six DLs and I think KP and the D-staff did an incredible job and two hybrid DE/pass rusher type guys too, our DL has played well this year and we had older guys and we needed to develop it. LB is a spot we didn’t sign a young guy a year ago, we wanted to get three and we flipped Rodney and we are excited about him. The secondary is a work in progress we signed three guys we are excited about and we signed guy We signed only a few guys at WR and OL and we need some younger guys ready to go and the OL we’ve had to revamp and we took transfers to fill voids and we’ve been able to sustain there and I may be wrong we brought in eight new guys and three freshmen and I bet we add two more.

RB is a spot where we have a handful of older guys and we need to bring in some young guys to develop and I think we’ve addressed those spots, those are the areas we’ve addressed the most.

On seeing some proof of concept of what they are doing, we know our roster and what we are recruiting to and we have an idea of where our holes are and our measurables and we have our staff together and now we have proof of concept, I didn’t put a number on it, but hey we got to a bowl game and we laid a foundation and we are building and growing and you are seeing something happening. Young people and old people want evidence that something is happening, but the wins have helped but the investment in the stadium and the facility changes this winter and spring and to have renderings and seeing what it looks like, you can see the actual commitment for this program to take the next step. To be competing not only in December but in January in the future. There is buzz about what we are doing nationally now and the AAU status of the school and the investment as promote the program and all that. It comes down to relationships and parents and grandparents sending their most prized possession to use for their next step. That gets lost in the shuffle of the craziness of CFB these days, they are young men that you want to create into fathers and bigger parts of society and that is still what it is about.

On the early enrollees practicing in the bowl game, we had four that enrolled in the last two weeks, they get beyond the reps, they see the culture and what practice is like and what our practices is like and they won’t be shellshocked by what they step into after the two weeks off and they know what the standard is and another 12-15 join them in January they will have some ownership of what it will look like. We’ve gotten to see what it looks like too.

On the Exume twins, Cino and Dino you will love them, they have personality for days, I’m not sure it was a package deal. We recruited them like crazy, they were both going to make the best decision for both of them and we thought the world of them. It helped when Chenellson committed and every morning I hit him up and said hey can you not hit up your own brother, I shamed him and he was a really good recruiter and Dinellson made his decision three weeks ago and he surprised coach KP down in Miami during his in-home and they fell in love with KP and Coach Orlando. They’ve been excited to stay together and they had a million options and to one stay, but two to come down it in Tampa with us a lot of credit goes to KP and Todd and the guys recruiting down there.

On Jonathan Echols, I think Jonathan is a great example of relationships and he is a young man that we’ve known for so long. When we came here there was never a plan to go flip this guy, we had an incredible relationship over a year we had got to know him and his family and what an incredible group of people they are. He left school and went to IMG a year ago, he had been in an almost college experience there and grown up as a 16-year-old and had to make a decision on his own to go to IMG and leave home, he is different maturity wise from an average teenager. There was a huge trust factor and he found out through the process that relationships were the most important thing and from development and support he could get everything he wanted at USF. He turned down a lot of different things to stay where he has been going to school the last few years and two to be with people who have cared about him for a long time. I’m humbled they made that decision and the people around him allowed him to make that decision to help him develop into one of the better TEs in the country.

On Tyreek Major, we had two on the OL from Gaither starting next to each other until Kilfoyl got banged up, that is awesome he decided to stay home, he went back and forth, another awesome family and people we enjoyed recruiting and they went back and forth on staying close to home and everyone wants to come to Tampa and eventually they realized they want to stay. Coach Carson and that whole crew encourage their guys to look at USF and we have proof of concept with two guys who play the same position both ask them what it is like and the success they had it is a lot easier and a credit to Hoodie and the relationships.

On Arkese, we started recruiting when we got here. He was at Wharton then and Arkese didn’t want to talk to us last spring and we had to go through our process and building and showing we are who we say we are and he did the same thing Echols did seeing a lot of places. Since the bye week he started to realize if I play WR is there a better offense to be in and be coached by great people and my family won’t have to go far to watch me play. As the process went he had a million options and perceptionally better places, but he made the choice to stay close to the Bay.

On the recruiting rankings leading the AAC and G5, it creates interest and buzz and it shows this is an incredible place to go to. It will help us finish with some guys who are still available. People want to be a part of winning and something cool, but by June no one will care about it. They have to earn the right to play, earn and develop and I don’t talk much about success or failures, but it shows we can recruit at a high level at USF and it is an attractive place and it is a credit to all the work we’ve done. We’ve worked really hard and my staff, but gosh our academic people, professors who have taken weekends to meet with our guys and doctors and trainers, that all meet and talk to our guys and bunch into our guys. Our creative media team and what they do, there is so much that goes into this, you are proud of the work, because there have been a lot of sleepless nights to convince these 25 to come here. To hang your hat, there is no award, you get really good players and young men and hopefully they help you win games. Hopefully we create some buzz and sell tickets, but in June we will get to work.

I'll have a fuller list tomorrow.

Several commits who haven't taken their OV yet will be on campus as well as a bunch of transfers. It will be a big transfer OV weekend overall.

Fred Gaskin
Teriyan Morman
Ashton Mosley

and Arkese Parks who would be a nice HS button on the 2024 class.

From the portal:

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I'm not overly optimistic about them landing Porcher. The offer to Tyler Gibson yesterday was for the same position LT that they like Porcher at. USF wouldn't be taking both. I also don't expect them to pursue Gibson much.


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Kid is kind of a wild card, no one knows yet what he is doing.

Out of HS:

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Nook took an OV to Purdue this weekend, he has been shopping around and wasn't thrilled with SC. I expect a NSD flip there. USF may get the rebound eventually here. Shamar Rigby helping push him to Purdue.

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Could sign with USF or he could punt to Feb. He has been a little all over the place with his recruitment.

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USF passed on Davis and he ended up signing with Louisville who was not in his final group of schools.

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I expect him to sign with Florida tomorrow.

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Committed to Arkansas State as Arkese Parks took his spot.

I'll add more as I confirm additional details and announcements.

Bulls Class Ranked No. 48 Nationally by Rivals, by far the highest rated class outside the autonomous five conferences



TAMPA, FLA., DEC. 20, 2023 – Head coach Alex Golesh continued to add fuel to the fast rise of USF football on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA Early Signing Period, as he and the USF staff welcomed 25 new Bulls in a class ranked the highest in the American Athletic Conference and highest among all programs outside of the autonomous five conferences by Rivals.



As of 5 p.m. on Friday, Rivals ranked the Bulls’ 2024 signing class No. 48 in the nation, well out-pacing Tulsa (No. 63) as the next closest conference program and next closest non-autonomy five program. It marked the Bulls highest ranked recruiting class in 10 years and first in the top 50 since the 2014 class checked in at No. 39. USF’s 2024 class stands higher in the Rivals rankings than 24 autonomous conference programs. Among the Bulls’ 25 early signees were two four-star recruits and 16 three-stars.



USF added 12 players on offense including four-star tight endJonathan Echols (6-6, 225/Franklin, Ga./IMG Academy), a late flip from Tennessee and the Bulls seventh-highest rated recruit in history according to 247Sports and the highest since tight end Sean Price in 2012.



On the defensive side of the ball, USF added 12 high school players, including defensive back Fred Gaskin (5-10, 180/Ocala, Fla./Vanguard HS) who was rated a four-star recruit when he committed to the Bulls over an offer from Alabama among numerous others, and NJCAA All-American defensive end Jaylen Pettus (6-3, 245/Iowa Western CC).



USF also added a standout Bull legacy on special teams as Tampa product Nico Gramatica (Cambridge Christian HS), the son of All-Pro Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Martin Gramatica, followed in the footsteps of his uncles Bill Gramatica (1998-2000) and Santiago Gramatica (2001-04) who were both standout kickers at USF and in the NFL.



The Bulls added 16 players from the state of Florida, six from Georgia, and one each from Iowa, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Early Signing Period runs through Dec. 22. The Late Signing Period for Division I college football begins on February 7.



“I really cool day for our program in a lot of ways,” Golesh said. “One, we are practicing to play in a bowl game tomorrow, which I think has been monumental for our program moving forward. And then Signing Day. I’m super grateful to our staff for how they have attacked recruiting. I’m really, really proud about what we were able to do today. We addressed a bunch of needs.”



On offense, the Bulls added four offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two running backs, two tight ends, and a quarterback.



Up front, USF got stronger with Braden Carter (6-6, 285/Cumming, Ga.), Chenellson Exume (6-4, 250/Miami, Fla.), Tyreek Major (6-6, 305/Tampa, Fla.) and Teriyan Morman (6-5, 330/Ocala, Fla.).



The Bulls added three wide receivers in Bay Area native Arkese Parks (6-2, 180/Tampa, Fla.), Joshua Porter (6-0, 171/Sebring, Fla.) and Brandon Winton (6-2, 175/Alcoa, Tenn.) and quarterback Marcelis Tate (6-2, 180/Neptune Beach, Fla.).



Joining the Bulls at running back are Nykahi Davenport (6-0, 190/Roswell, Ga.) and Alvon Isaac (5-9, 166/Hawthorne, Fla.), while joining Echols at tight end is Levi Smiley (6-4, 220/Cincinnati, Ohio).



On the defensive side of the ball, USF added four linebackers, four defensive ends, three defensive backs and one defensive tackle.



The linebacker additions include Devon Byrd (6-3, 190/West Palm Beach, Fla.), Zavier Hamilton (6-2, 218/Navarre, Fla.), Rodney Hill (5-10, 210 / Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Ashton Mosley (6-3, 235/Blountstown, Fla.).



Up front, the four defensive ends consist of Dinellson Exume (6-4, 234/Miami, Fla.) whose twin brother also committed to USF on the other side of the line, Ryan Jenkins (6-4, 230/Albany, Ga.), Jaylen Pettus (6-3, 245/Council Bluffs, Iowa), and Ira Singleton (6-5, 220/Lilburn, Ga.). The Bulls also added to their front with defensive tackle Jahari Grant (6-2, 280/Port St. Lucie, Fla.).



The secondary additions include Jermaine Dalias (6-2, 190/Coconut Creek, Fla.), Fred Gaskin (5-10, 180/Ocala, Fla.), and Hasaan Sykes (6-0, 170/Tucker, Ga.).



Four players are already with the Bulls in Boca Raton joining in practice bowl preparations. They are Echols, Porter, Tate, and Winton.

TAMPA, Fla. (December 20, 2023) – The University of South Florida men's basketball team returns to the Yuengling Center on Friday, Dec. 22, for a contest with UAlbany. The Bulls (5-4) and the Great Danes (7-5) are scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip on ESPN+.



Earlier this week, Selton Miguel was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll after he led South Florida with 17.5 points per game for the week. He recorded a season-best 21 points against Loyola Chicago on Saturday.



Bulls at a Glance

Selton Miguel leads the team with 14.6 points per contest and is third on the team with 3.9 boards per game. He is second on the squad with 14 steals. He has added 19 assists and one block. Chris Youngblood is second on the squad with 12.6 points per game. He is averaging 2.2 rebounds per game to go along with 18 assists, four steals, and three blocks. He is shooting 88.1 percent from the free-throw line, which is tied for 63rd in the country and second in the AAC. Jayden Reid leads the team with 39 assists. He is tied for 108th in the NCAA with 4.3 assists per game and is seventh in the AAC. He has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.55, which is 18th in the country, best in the conference, and is second among NCAA freshmen. He paces the squad with 16 steals and is averaging 3.2 rebounds per game to go along with 8.6 points per contest. Kasean Pryor leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per contest. He averages 8.0 points per game with 11 steals and 10 assists. He is tied for a team-best six blocks. Corey Walker Jr. is tied for the team lead with six blocks.



Strong Bench

South Florida’s bench is 18th in the NCAA averaging 32.78 points per contest. The USF bench has outscored its opponent's bench 295-156. Opposing benches are averaging just 17.33 points per game.



Cashing in on Free Opportunities

The Bulls are tied for 26th in the NCAA and fourth in the conference with 17.6 made free throws per game. USF is 36th in the country with 23.9 free-throw attempts per game, which is sixth in the AAC.



Fast and Furious

The Bulls have been playing stout defense and are tied for 25th in the NCAA with a turnover margin of 4.0, which is tops in the conference. South Florida is tied for 46th in the country with 15.33 forced turnovers per contest, which is third in the AAC. USF has used the turnovers to lead to fastbreak opportunities. The Bulls are 29th in the nation with 15.98 fastbreak points per game, which is the third in the conference.



Last Time Out

South Florida is coming off a 77-64 victory against Loyola Chicago. Selton Miguel led the team with a season-high 21 points and scored double figures in his seventh game this season. He shot 80.0 percent from the field and 60.0 percent from 3-point range. He added two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Jayden Reid finished with 13 points, a team-high six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Sam Hines Jr. added 12 points, four rebounds, and one assist. Chris Youngblood rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds. It was the third time this season that USF has had four or more players score in double figures. It was the first time this season that the Bulls trailed at the half and came back to win.



History with UAlbany

The Bulls and Great Danes will meet for just the second time on Friday. South Florida won the lone meeting 63-61, on November 24, 2015, in Tampa.



Scouting the Great Danes

The Great Danes are tied for 31st in the NCAA in 3-point percentage defense holding opponents to 28.5 percent from long range. Sebastian Thomas paces UAlbany with 16.3 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds per contest. He has a team-best 55 assists. He has added 17 steals and three blocks. Amar’e Marshall is second on the team averaging 14.9 points a game. He is averaging 5.3 boards per game. He leads the team with 27 steals. He has 25 assists and four blocks. Jonathan Beagle leads the team with 111 rebounds, which is tied for 15th in the country. His 9.2 rebounds per game are tied for 36th in the nation, while his 6.50 defensive rebounds per game are tied for 40th in the NCAA. He rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12.5 points a game. He has 16 assists, 11 steals, and five blocks on the year.



Tale of the Tape

I know recruiting rankings aren't everything, especially out of the top 250 kids or so. But our recruiting has really struggled the last 8 years, but maybe we've turned it around. This year's class sits at #44. To me there's no reason we can't be a top 50 recruiting class every year, even in the AAC.

2016- Rivals Rank 70
2017- 69
2018- 58
2019- 65
2020- Outside the top 100
2021- 60
2022- 90
2023- 78

The most-watched Group of Five teams (minimum five Nielsen-rated games):​

Most-watched teams on Nielsen-rated games, followed by their highest-rated game.

• Navy 2.61 million (5): 7.18 million vs. Army
• USF 927,000 (6): 4.84 million vs. Alabama
• Tulane 640,000 (12): 1.72 million vs. Memphis
• Boise State 590,000 (9): 1.97 million vs. Washington
• Memphis 576,000 (7): 1.72 million vs. Tulane
• Rice 541,000 (7): 3.21 million vs. Texas

Frank Harris out for UTSA that are tied at 14 with Marshall.

Grad transfer who had 25 catches for 329 yards in six games in 2023. Had several P5 offers, but chose the Bulls.

Top100 portal recruit.
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Winton is a Tennessee native that previously spent time at IMG Academy before recently moving back to Tennessee to finish his high school career. Big pickup for the Bulls.

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