Ex-USF star Jones clarifies comment on teammates

Former USF basketball player Dominique Jones ruffled some feathers around campus when his comments following a recent workout with the Washington Wizards made their way into the blogosphere.

When asked by a reporter to assess his chances in the NBA, a confident Jones talked about why he left school and how he sees himself adjusting to the pro game.

"As long as I have a good situation and the opportunity to go out on the court and show what I can be, in the long run, I'm going to be a great player," Jones said. "People are going to look back 10, 15 years from now and be, like, 'How was that Dominique Jones still in the draft?'"

Later in the interview, Jones added: "There's a lot of things that I can do that I wasn't able to show in college because of the team that I was on and the talent surrounding me."

That's the comment that raised a few eyebrows and got his cell phone ringing Wednesday morning while he was in Chicago preparing for the first day of the NBA draft combine. Jones clarified his statement to make sure his former teammates understand what he meant.

"I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for those guys," he said. "I went to war with those guys, and they went to war with me. I love the program. I had a role at USF, and in the NBA I'll have a different role because of the players around me."

Holtz is still thinking of Bowden

Add USF football coach Skip Holtz to the list of Bobby Bowden supporters who wished the former Florida State coach could have remained one more season instead of being forced out against his wishes.

"I love Coach Bowden," Holtz told RadioExiles.com. "I am very grateful to him. He gave me my opportunity to be a coach 20 some years ago. I don't know all the things that transpired and exactly how it went down, I just think Coach Bowden earned the right to turn and go out on his own terms."

Holtz began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at FSU and met his wife, Jennifer, in the Florida State football offices.

The foreign factor

USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez added some international flavor to the Bulls' 2010 recruiting class with the addition of Finland forward Salla Ekstrom.

Ekstrom is a member of Finland's national team and spent last summer playing in the European U-18 Championships in Israel. Ekstrom's father, Lars, was her coach.

"Salla is extremely skilled, being able to play with her back to the basket and she can face the basket and make plays," Fernandez said. "Her thing will be just how quickly she will adjust to college basketball as opposed to the international game."

Names, notes and nuggets

Track coach Warren Bye's 13-member signing class includes three recent prep state champions: Seminole Ridgewood's Marqueshia Stallworth (triple jump), Mount Dora Bible School's Brian Kilts (long jump) and Hillsborough High's Terrence Mitchell, the state's Class 3A long jump champion and a football recruit. ... Women's tennis players Irene Rehberger (singles and doubles) and Melissa Koning (doubles) are competing in the NCAA championships starting Wednesday at the University of Georgia. USF's season ended with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Miami.