Here are some points to chew on while we wait for a high-stakes USF basketball showdown Thursday night against Memphis at the Yuengling Center.
The Bulls, under first-year coach Bryan Hodgson, are 18-8 overall and 10-3 in the American Conference. They have won seven of their last eight games and have evolved into one of the most exciting teams to watch in the country. I can say that with confidence because I watch A LOT of college basketball.
Their hair-on-fire approach, coupled with a deep bench, means they are never out of a game. On the road last week at Wichita State, USF trailed nearly of the first half and was still down by five with about 11:30 left in the second half.
If negative thoughts started slipping into your mind at that point -- good opponent, road game, all that jazz -- the Bulls had an answer. They caught up, then pulled away for an eight-point win.
After watching head coach Bryan Hodgson and his staff at work, it's easy to see why he's considered a rising star in college coaching. He is demanding without being overbearing. He loves his players fiercely and they return the favor.
Take forward Daimion Collins, for instance.
He was a five-star player out of high school and signed with Kentucky before transferring to LSU. Collins came to Tampa from Baton Rouge.
With that kind of background, you might think he would come to the Bulls expecting preferential treatment. It has just been the opposite. Collins has only topped 20 minutes of court time four times this season, but his presence has often been game-altering -- especially when he pairs with Izaiyah Nelson on the inside.
"He's extremely selfless. He's all about this basketball team. A guy in his last year could easily be crying and moaning about not being in the starting lineup or about his minutes. He doesn't," Hodgson said.
"When you see Daimion frustrated, it's because he's mad at himself. He holds himself to an extremely high standard. He's a phenomenal young man who will play basketball for a long time."
Another thing to like about Hodgson is his candor. If the Bulls have a bad game, he won't try to cover it up. He doesn't flip out like now-former Kansas State coach Jerome Tang did, but he won't try to dodge reality. When he utters his trademark phrase -- "I'm not gonna sugarcoat this" -- pay attention. He is about to drop some knowledge that you can be sure he already told his players.
Refreshing.
His obvious respect for the late Amir Abdur-Rahim is genuine, which tells me he understands the culture at USF. That's why he has stressed that this wasn't a rebuild because of the foundation Coach Amir established.
However, let's not overlook that 13 of the 15 players on this team are first-year Bulls, so it does take time to mold all those diverse parts into a functioning team. Hodgson and his staff have done that.
USF leads the conference in seven team categories — average points, rebounds, offensive rebounds, assists, free-throw attempts, free throws made, and 3-point attempts. Nelson tops the American in rebounds, field-goal percentage, and double-doubles.
"Coach (Hodgson) runs this like an NBA team,'' Nelson said on GoUSFBulls.com,
"If you don't like our style of play, you don't like basketball. As players, we dream about playing this style. Other teams probably don't like preparing for us because we're looking to run you into the ground.''
Does that mean they'll win every game left on the schedule and then run through the American Conference tournament? Of course not.
But the idea that they could do that isn't far-fetched at all. That might be the most entertaining thing about this team.