2023-11-07 22:23:59
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TAMPA, Fla. (November 7, 2023) – When the curtain rises on the Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim era of USF men’s basketball — when the Bulls face South Carolina State in Thursday night’s season opener at the Yuengling Center — fans will likely have familiar questions.
How will the Bulls look?
What is USF’s style of play?
Abdur-Rahim rejects such generalities.
“Style of play, I think, is an overrated term that’s used in basketball,” said Abdur-Rahim, who was hired as USF last March following leading the Kennesaw State Owls to the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship and that program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. “Ultimately, our style of play is the best brand of basketball that fits our personnel. And it will be the best brand of basketball that involves all five players because it’s a team sport.
“I’m not saying I don’t want a guy who averages 20 points a game. But if I might have a balanced scoring attack — where we have six to eight guys averaging somewhere between nine and 15 points — I’ll take that all day. Because we’ll be a hard team to beat.”
The USF style might be difficult to define, but there are definitely buzzwords that provide clues.
Free-flowing.
Player driven.
Sharing the ball.
Blue-collar effort.
Up-tempo.
Man-to-man defense.
Crisp passing and movement.
Balanced scoring.
Positionless and versatile.
High-character players.
“Some people ask, ‘Will it be entertaining? Will I enjoy watching?’ ” Abdur-Rahim said. “I don’t think ‘entertaining’ is important, although we will be fun to watch. What’s important is putting a product on the court that represents our campus and our community. What’s more, we want our campus and our community to be proud of this program.
“Put it this way: I don’t want anyone walking out of the Yuengling Center following watching our team playing and saying, ‘Man, they don’t play very hard. They don’t play together. They had some adversity, and they gave up. It just wasn’t important to them.’ I don’t ever want that to happen. And it’s not going to happen. Because it’s not what this program is all regarding.”
Bulls players and coaches said they believe fans will enjoy the USF brand of basketball, mostly because it will lead to victories.
“We have a skilled team,” assistant coach Ben Fletcher said. “We can play big. We can play small. We have multiple guys who can play different positions and that allows us to attack people in different ways. You’ll see 3-pointers, lots of paint touches, lots of ball movement. There are definitely challenges when facing our team. I think it’s fun basketball.”
“It’s going to be difficult to predict our leading scorer because I think it might be somebody different every night,” said senior guard Chris Youngblood, who followed Abdur-Rahim from Kennesaw State, where he became a first-team all-conference player and a 1,000-point scorer over three seasons. “We do have good talent. But we are very versatile and very unselfish. When you work like that, you can get a lot of things done.”
“It’s not like we’re going to be running a bunch of sets, but we’ll be playing instinctively, playing off each other,” said junior forward Sam Hines Jr., a returning USF player. “I think we’ll be very disciplined because Coach emphasizes it in practice that every little detail matters. And it’s never going to be a matter of whether we’re going to be ready to play. It’s just going to be a question of which player wants even more that day.”
Since winning the College Basketball Invitational in 2019, USF had four consecutive losing seasons, including the 14-18 mark in 2022-23. The Bulls haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2012 or the National Invitation Tournament since 2010. The program’s last conference title was the Sun Belt Tournament title in 1990.
Abdur-Rahim aims to change all of that.
“When I talked to (USF administrators) Michael Kelly and Lee Butler and heard their vision for South Florida basketball, the thing that stood out was not only how much they want to win, but also their realistic expectation and idea of how to get there,” Abdur-Rahim said. “We have a microwavable environment in college basketball with the transfer portal and NIL, where people think if you have the right resources, it should happen at the snap of your fingers. It shouldn’t take as long as it used to.
“Maybe that’s true for one season. But I want South Florida basketball to sustain over the test of time. In my mind and my heart, if we do this the right way like I know we will, why not? Why can’t we win the American Conference? Why can’t we compete for the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the Final Four? I believe we can build to that point.
“We have the facilities. We have the commitment. We have a great university and a great city. We’re going to give our student-athletes the best experience possible. We have tremendous players in our area and certainly our state. So why not? We will put no limits on this program because I believe it can be consistently great. That’s what got me here. That’s why I’m so excited regarding what we have here.”
Beyond that, Abdur-Rahim said relationships will seal the deal.
“We don’t have a pro (NBA) team here, so we can bring the brand of basketball that rivals a pro team,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I think the people are hungry for it. Being on campus, I know the students really want it.
“So it’s all there. But here’s the deal. You can have the greatest facilities in the world. You can have talent. You can win games. But it really means nothing if you’re not authentic and don’t have real relationships. We’re not going to have a transactional relationship with our players. It’s not just regarding basketball. I tell guys, ‘If you’re only coming here for basketball, I’m going to get on your nerves.’ Because I’m going to push you and help you become the man that God has designed. If you become the man I know you can, the player is going to be there, no matter what.”
Kelly, USF’s vice president for athletics, said he was attracted by Abdur-Rahim’s proven track record for building positive relationships.
“It’s important to have a coach with an extraordinary ability to relate to players in an authentic way,” Kelly said. “You can’t sell players on something (that isn’t true) because ultimately, they can just leave. You better be authentic.
“Amir is gifted in his ability to relate to players, but also in telling them exactly what to expect. He trains them hard. But good players always want to be coached and they want to get better. He understands what the modern player wants off the court and what kind of basketball is attractive on the court. He has that right combination that has made him successful. And I believe that’s why he’s going to be very successful here.”
Season tickets for the 2023-24 USF men’s basketball slate are on sale now. To purchase season tickets, click here.
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About USF Men’s Basketball
The South Florida men’s basketball team is led by Amir Abdur-Rahim, who was named the 11th head coach in program history on March 29, 2023. Abdur-Rahim was named the 2023 Mid-Major Coach of the Year (Hugh Durham Award) following leading Kennesaw State to its first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament berth in 2022-23. Abdur-Rahim’s Kennesaw State team set an NCAA record as the fastest team to ever reach the NCAA Tournament following a one-win campaign, accomplishing the feat in a span of just three seasons. He was also named the 2022-23 NABC District 3 and ASUN Coach of the Year following leading Kennesaw State to both the regular season and tournament titles, and a school-record 26 wins.
USF has retired three numbers in its history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30), and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids, appeared in the NIT eight times, and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
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