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Bulls enter basketball season hungry, confident

Staff file photo by CHRIS URSO

Junior guard Dominique Jones returns after averaging a team-high 18.1 points a game last season.

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By SCOTT CARTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 11, 2009

TAMPA - In his first two seasons at the University of South Florida, Stan Heath realized his Bulls were outmanned most nights in the Big East unless he could somehow sneak LeBron James into the lineup without anyone noticing.

Because James has a full-time job, that was never an option, so the Bulls took a pounding, winning only seven of 36 conference games in Heath's first two seasons. With his third season set to tip off Friday at Southern Methodist, Heath is banking on a more competitive team due to an influx of newcomers and the return of junior guard Dominique Jones, who averaged a team-high 18.1 points a game last season.

Will the Bulls surpass last season's nine wins?

"Oh, yeah," Jones said. "Our goal right now is 20-plus. That's a big step. It ain't easy. Nobody said it's going to be easy, and we don't expect it to be easy. But in the two years I've been here, we're working harder than I've seen."

Heath isn't making any predictions on the number of wins for the Bulls - they went 9-22 a year ago and 12-21 in Heath's first season - but he has seen enough during practice to open the season with a renewed confidence.

"I do think this team is very hungry," he said. "They have worked very hard in practice. They're starting to build a little bit more chemistry. I feel we're much more competitive. I feel like we can take the floor and (not) feel like it's a mismatch and that we've got to steal possessions and slow the game down to keep to keep it within a close range. I feel like every day we take the floor, we've got a legitimate chance to beat people."

For a fledgling program still seeking to make its presence felt in the Big East, being more competitive would help the cause. Heath used 15 different starting lineups last season and watched the Bulls struggle mightily on offense, finishing last in the Big East in scoring (59 points a game), shooting (39.9 percent) and free-throw shooting (59.8 percent).

USF's defense was sixth-best in the Big East, but dreadful shooting and lack of toughness inside cost the Bulls against Big East bullies such as Villanova, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The season highlight was an upset of No. 8-ranked Marquette, snapping USF's 32-game losing streak against top-10 teams.

Heath brought in 6-foot-11 junior-college transfer Jarrid Famous to shore up the inside. Famous averaged 25.2 points and 13.6 rebounds last season at Westchester (N.Y.) Community College. He chose USF over programs such as Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Arizona.

"I wanted to go to a program where I could help and be an immediate impact," Famous said. "I'm going to have to go out there and rebound and be a presence down low, on offense and defense."

To help Jones put up points, Heath added guards Mike Burwell Jr., Shaun Noriega, Jordan Dumars (son of former Detroit Pistons All-Star Joe Dumars) and Anthony Crater, a transfer from Ohio State who becomes eligible Dec. 12.

"We weren't very good at shooting the ball from 3-point range," Heath said. "That is something we need desperately."

To help Famous on the inside, 6-foot-10 forward Gus Gilchrist will be pushed to improve upon last season, his first since transferring from Maryland. Also, center Alex Rivas, who started 14 games last season, is out for the first month following offseason leg surgery.

Although Famous is new to the program, he clearly understands the mission.

"We want to be a threat in the Big East," Famous said. "We don't want to be at the bottom."

Reporter Scott Carter can be reached at (813) 731-8135.

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