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Bulls Keep Building Despite Losing A Block

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Chris Howard and USF are making steady, if unspectacular, progress toward being competitive in the Big East.

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By JOE HENDERSON

jhenderson@tampatrib.com

Published: January 24, 2009

Updated: 01/24/2009 01:06 am

TAMPA - On Friday afternoon, we learned a starting forward for the University of South Florida men's basketball team will miss the rest of the season. Mobolaji Ajayi landed wrong in practice the day before and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Sigh.

This kind of stuff happens to every team, but you'd think these guys could catch a break. They already lost guard Mike Mercer to the same injury. Ajayi isn't a great player, but he is 6-foot-9, a big body inside the paint, and the Bulls never seem to have enough of those.

Inside Stan Heath's office at the Sun Dome, though, there was no pity party. There was just video of today's opponent, Villanova, and a resolve to keep going. He is in his second year on a job many have said can't be done, but he doesn't see it that way.

"I'd like to see us in the NCAA Tournament next year," Heath said. "I would hope the third year is the charm."

That's down the road, though. For now, he has a 7-11 basketball team, trying to navigate the toughest conference in the land. Two weeks ago USF smoked DePaul 80-58 on the road. The Bulls couldn't even enjoy the moment, though, because their next opponent was Pitt, ranked No. 1 in the land at the time.

It's basically the same thing today. After beating DePaul again Tuesday, the Bulls get 21st-ranked Villanova today, followed by a trip to Louisville on Wednesday.

"People asked, 'What was it like to play the No. 1 team in the country?' It's like, 'OK, they're great, but so is everybody else in this league,' " Heath said. "This is something else."

Building Blocks

There are a few blocks in place to build with. Guard Dominique Jones can play for any team in this conference.

He practically willed the Bulls back into the game after they got way behind Saturday at West Virginia. USF had the ball at the end with a chance to force overtime before losing 62-59.

That's the same West Virginia team that went on the road Thursday night and smothered Georgetown.

Jones has 22 or more points in four consecutive games, including 35 at West Virginia. Guard Chris Howard has played more consistently and that has helped, but inside strength is a real problem. Newcomer Gus Gilchrist has shown flashes and he should be real good a year from now.

Everything else inside is inconsistent, and you don't win in the Big East that way.

USF wasn't winning much of anything earlier this season. The Bulls lost to UCF. They lost to Niagara. They were blown out in Puerto Rico by Wright State and, gulp, Oral Roberts. With a full slate of conference games, the ingredients for a total meltdown were in place.

"I was really disappointed in our nonconference record. After Puerto Rico I was wondering, 'Can we ever win?'" Heath said.

He was not alone.

Seeing Improvement

But the Bulls are playing better. They really are. It starts modestly with attitude and an understanding what it takes to win in this conference. They don't have enough talent to do that yet, but they can give what they have. That is happening.

They stood toe-to-toe with Pitt into the second half. They fell way behind Syracuse but didn't quit and made a game of it. Small stuff, maybe, but important nonetheless.

Both those games would have been 30-point blowouts last year, as would the game at West Virginia.

USF fans have heard that story before - their first year in the Big East, it seemed the Bulls lost every game at the buzzer - so it's understandable if they greet that news with restrained enthusiasm. There is a general belief, though, that things are at last pointed in the right direction.

They'll have Jones back next year, Mercer should be fully recovered, and heralded transfer point guard Anthony Crater will be eligible in December. Heath is scouring about for big bodies inside. Get a couple of those and the Bulls could be interesting.

For now, though, there are games to play and injuries to absorb. Sometimes the basketball gods seem to have an agenda against the Bulls, but complaining doesn't do any good.

"Basically I tell the team to embrace the situation," Heath said. "You can't run from it anyway."

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