USF just released its women's basketball non-conference schedule for the upcoming season and Bulls fans will immediately notice that traditional powers like UConn and South Carolina are not on it as they have been so often in years past.
That's not because new head coach Kristy Curry is ducking them. It's because by the time Curry arrived from Alabama, most of the teams around the country had already filled their out-of-conference slots.
“When we got here, we had nine openings in the schedule. That's tough. You know, that's very unusual that time of year. I know when we left Alabama, we only had a couple of openings that we were still working on. So, it was late,” Curry said in a conversation with Green, Gold and Bold.
“I think we did a really good job of making the best of the scenario. In the future, we'll continue to work on that.
With a lot of last-minute scrambling, Curry was able to fashion a schedule that should still get the Bulls ready to compete in the American Conference and hopefully deep into March. It includes the start of a home-and-home series with the Florida Gators, a matchup against Auburn in the Cherokee Invitational, and a game against Texas Tech in the WCBA Showcase in Orlando.
The Bulls could also Seton Hall and possibly Baylor in the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“It was a little nerve-wracking because when we got here, we knew we were in those two tournaments (Paradise Jam and Cherokee Invitational). We just weren't sure of the opponents. but I do like the way the level of competition has fallen out,” Curry said.
“I think it can really help our NET rating overall, and I think it puts us in a road environment, you know, and can help prepare you for what's ahead in conference season on the road. I've always felt like those tournaments give you an opportunity to work on that scenario based off your game times and if there's a day in between or not.”
Curry came to South Florida on March 24 after 13 seasons as the head coach at Alabama. She had previous stops at Purdue and Texas Tech, giving her 27 seasons overall. She has a 554-322 overall record.
Curry led Purdue to the 2001 NCAA Final Four and has two NCAA Elite Eight and four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
The Bulls just wrapped up eight weeks of summer practice and will begin practice for the regular season around September 21. Curry likes what she sees.
"They've been unbelievable. We had 11 of 13 players that were here for the second half of the summer. We had nine that were here for the first half of the summer,” she said.
“We've been really fortunate to have the majority of our team here, except for a couple that were home playing internationally. Once we hit that mark (in September), it will be much more of a routine, game-like mode. But I love this team. I think Nicole (Jimenez), our new strength coach, has been phenomenal. Coach Kelly (Curry) and his group have done a great job with position workouts. We've been able to blend in some team time as well,”
As we talked, she noted that a couple of her players were in the gym on their own.
“One thing that I love about this team is they're always in the gym, the unrequired. It's a great group with a tremendous work ethic," she said. "I just love the balance of this team. know the depth of our talent I feel like it's a great group."
USF's non-conference opponents
November 2 Furman at USF
November 6 Belmont at Belmont
November 8 Rhode Island at Belmont
Novermber 12 Florida at Florida
November 15 FIU at USF
November 18 Binghamton at USF
November 22 Texas Tech at Orlando
November 26 Seton Hall at the Virgin Islands
November 28 Winner of Baylor/TBD at the Virgin Islands
December 1 Arkansas Pine Bluff at USF
December 4 Morgan St. at USF
December 15 Longwood at USF
December 20 Auburn at Cherokee, N.C.
December 21 Middle Tennessee State at Cherokee, N.C.
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