Bulls don't want to disrupt chemistry

The initial verdict was that USF's season was about to take a Titanic-type plunge. That's what happens when an unproven team, one struggling to get up off the canvas, loses its leading scorer and most dangerous post player with one bad step.

So, when 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Gus Gilchrist suffered a severely sprained ankle during practice Dec. 7, the prognosis appeared rather grim for the Bulls. Six days after Gilchrist went down, USF lost at home to Central Michigan. How did the Chippewas celebrate? They followed their big road win by losing to South Dakota State.

Yep, USF's quick start was a nice story while it lasted. That was the prevailing thought at the time. But a strange scenario played out on the court since Gilchrist last suited up: USF became a confident team, winning on the road, winning against ranked teams, and most importantly, winning without Gilchrist.

Now another challenge: Continue playing well with Gilchrist back in the lineup. The Bulls take their first shot at that task tonight at Marquette when Gilchrist returns after missing 15 games.

"It's kind of scary because you don't know what to expect," senior point guard Chris Howard said.

When Gilchrist went down, he led the team in scoring (18.8 points) and much of the offense ran through him. Without Gilchrist, junior guard Dominique Jones has taken over much of the scoring load, leading the nation in scoring since Jan. 1 with 27.5 points a game.

USF coach Stan Heath expects Gilchrist to play somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes tonight, taking some of the scoring pressure off Jones and allowing USF's other big men - Jarrid Famous, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and Alex Rivas - to be more physical.

Maintaining chemistry will be the most critical task.

"All of us know, including Gus, that it's going to take him a while," Heath said. "He's always been a guy who can get things done without necessarily running your offense through him. It's great to have another offensive weapon. I think it's a plus for the stretch run, as he gets better and better, I think it's a huge jolt for our team.

"It's a little bit of an adjustment, but the upside is so much better for our team going down the stretch."

Gilchrist was not available to the media before the team's departure for Marquette, but his presence on the post will provide USF an inside-outside game that has been lacking recently.

"When you put him in a pick-and-roll, it changes the way teams have to guard us ... because of his capability of shooting the 3," Howard said. "We've just got to fit him in."

The most difficult challenge of fitting Gilchrist in will be handled by Jones, who has taken over games at crucial moments during Gilchrist's absence. He must continue to be aggressive offensively while not wasting Gilchrist's ability as a scoring threat and low-post passer.

"When Gus was here, I gave off a lot of my things to him, because I knew we needed multiple people to contribute," Jones said. "As of now, how I look at it, I'm just going to go out there and play my game. I'm going to be aggressive like I have been these last couple of weeks. I feel like everybody feeds off me."

COMMITMENT: USF coach Stan Heath received a verbal commitment from Tallahassee Community College guard Hugh Robertson.

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound shooting guard is averaging 12.4 points and 4.4 rebounds for TCC.