In their run to the American Conference regular-season and tournament championships last season, South Florida was a textbook example of what next-level guard play can do.
The success of Wes Enis, Joseph Pinion, and Josh Omojafo out front made the Bulls extremely tough to defend and opened up things inside for Izaiyah Nelson and Damion Collins.
But in this new season, with new players, and a new head coach named Chris Mack, do the Bulls have a chance to replicate that success?
It's possible.
First, Omojafo is back, thanks to the NCAA's new ruling that allows for players to compete for five seasons. And with Sonny Wilson and Mike James transferring to USF from Toledo, the Bulls have the potential for an electrifying front court.
"I wouldn't want to battle with any other group in the group I have. I feel like we have guys all marching in the same direction. We just have to continue to give them that direction," Mack said.
Wilson comes to USF after 99 career games with 98 starts at Toledo.
"I think he's as fast as any point guard in the country. From defense to offense, he can get in the lane. He has for his size. He has a gift of being able to score around the basket and see out and we've got to be able to cut at the appropriate times, space at the appropriate times, make the right plays off of him. But he can create a whole lot on the offensive end," Mack said.
"Defensively, he can be a pest and we're going to challenge him to do that. You know, it's a big challenge to be able to play that hard and that complete of a game for 35 minutes or so that he's out there, but he's more than capable of doing it. His assist turnover ratio has been absolutely sterling since he arrived on campus and it's very comforting as a coach."
Wilson earned all-conference honors at Toledo in each of his three seasons before deciding to hit the Trahsfer Portal.
"When I got in the portal, coaches could start reaching out to us, I had a conversation with Coach Mack, came on a visit. I really enjoyed my time down here. I enjoyed everything. You know, he was preaching about expectations for the team and stuff like that. Then I'm here," he said.
"Obviously, we live in a new age with a lot of different things going on. I just felt like it was probably time for me to go. I have all respect to the coaches at Toledo and all them. I still love them to death and they still love me. It was never bad blood between us. Our relationship is still great, but I just felt like I just wanted to go somewhere else."
James comes to USF from Vanderbilt, where he didn't flash big stats. A better comparison might be his two seasons at Louisville, where he was recruited there by Mack. He started all 64 games for the Cardinals from 2022-2024 before a knee injury set him back.
Fully healthy now, he brings experience and maturity --he'll be 24 years old at the start of this season.
"I feel like the sky's the limit since we just got to keep growing, keep growing together, keep getting better on the defensive end. I feel like we got a lot of pieces that can do a lot of different things. So, you know, we can go just as far as we want to take it, as far as we stick together," he said,
The early returns have been encouraging. The Bulls defeated Miami, a team with great expectations this season, in a. scrimmage. Sure, it's only a scrimmage, but it gave a hint of what this team can do when the season opens on November 2 at home against Charleston Southern,
"We've got a long way to go. I think our hearts and our spirit is in the right place. I think we have a team full of everyday guys that compete, but we're learning a lot, and I think that's what this time of the year is for," Mack said.
"We have 15 guys from 15 different places. So putting everybody on the same page and teaching them what they don't know in terms of our system is the biggest challenge. We've come a long way since the beginning of June. We have a long way to go to look like a seamless operation. But our players are playing for one another and they're playing for USF."
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