USF Men’s basketball within reach of a championship after bold promises and big wins

The intention from the moment Bryan Hodgson accepted the job as USF's men's basketball coach was two-fold.

"We came here to win and compete for a conference championship in year one. I said that in my press conference and nothing I said that day was lip service.," Hodgson said/

"It's the reason why I took the job. I felt like we could do that. And we're in the driver's seat to make that happen right now."

Driver's seat? These Bulls epitomize the credo that CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins lives by: All gas, no brakes.

And as USF heads into Sunday's game against Tulane at the Yuengling Center, the checkered flag is out for the first goal. The Bulls are one win away from clinching their share of their second American Conference regular season title in program history. They hold a two-game lead with three conference games to play.

The second goal -- win the conference tournament or at least qualify for the NCAA tournament is in the near future.

First things first, though

Tulane, at 17-11, is no pushover, but the Bulls hammered the Green Wave 97-83 on January 28 in New Orleans. USF enters the rematch on a six-game winning streak and nine of its last 10.

"Credit to our guys, they believed in it. They put in the work. They've been the best group of young men that I've coached in 18 years," Hodgson said.

"The chemistry in our locker room, the love for one another. It's just it's really a credit to them. But honestly, we're executing a plan that we put together as a program in the spring once we finalize the roster and when you got the right people on board, good things tend to happen."

Thirteen of the 14 active players are new to the program. Forward De`Ante Green has sat out this season rehabbing from an injury suffered last year. He has plans to play next year with the Bulls. There were some growing pains early in the season as everyone became accustomed to each and Hodgson's rampaging style of play, but watching it now is seeing a confident, swarming style of basketball.

Two holdovers from Hodgson's Arkansas State team -- forward Izaiyah Nelson and guard Joseph Pinion -- have been invaluble leaders. Nelson, barring something unforeseen, will be the conference player of the year. Pinion has lived up to his reputation as a long-range shooter, but he also plays tough defense, rebounds, sets screen, and does the dirty work to help the team.

Guard Wes Inis has developed into another long-range shooter that opponents have to constantly monitor. Guard CJ Brown, who was at USF last year, is averaging nearly 12 points per game and 4.1 assists. Forward Daimion Collins, a transfer from LSU, has provided key depth and valuable miniutes inside. When he is paired with Nelson, the Bulls have a formidible inside presence.

It was all part of the plan.

"First and foremost, it's the way that we built the roster. You can't have ten guys that think they're gonna be your leading scorer. Second, we kind of put in what we call our culture playbook," Hodgson said,

"We brought in the Navy SEALs and did our team retreat for 72 hours up near Ocala. And everybody loves to hear the stories about the physical portion of it and the 5 AM wake up call. But the best portion of that retreat is what we do in the evening and that's our culture portion. And during that portion, each member of our program staff included has to be vulnerable."

So here they are, as the calendar flips to March, leading the conference with a chance to achieve great things. We get caught up NET ratings and speculation about what will happen if the Bulls don't win the conference tournament, and those things are important. But that misses the point.

What this team and coaching staff accomplished in less than one season has the attention of people who follow basketball. Like Amir Abdur-Rahim before. him, Hodgson has proved that South Florida is not the dead-end job it was so often believed to be.

It just took someone who wasn't afraid to publicly set big goals, and players who bought into the whole package. They have two conference games left after Sunday, and hopefully two more in the tournament.

It's all in front of them, and it's all part of the plan.