South Florida Bulls – #9 Big East college basketball power rankings

South Florida

Coach: Stan Heath (5 seasons at South Florida 182-164) Overall 182-164, 11 years

2011-12: Record 22-14 overall, 12- 6 in Big East (Tie 4th)

Starters Returning (2) Victor Rudd, Anthony Collins

Preseason Tournament: None

Top Non-Conference Games: vs. Georgia, at Oklahoma State

Transfer Out: Lavonte Dority (Valparaiso), Blake Nash (Texas Tech)

Transfer In : Kore White (Florida Atlantic-eligible immediately)

Sat Out: Jordan Omogbehin (redshirt), Martino Brock (South Alabama)

Last year the Bulls made the NCAA tournament for just the third time in school history. They were just not happy to be there as they advanced to the sweet 16. Stan Heath, the former Arkansas coach has done an excellent job rebuilding this program. His team mostly got it done on the defensive end, they averaged under 60 points per game on offense. No player on their team averaged in double figures. The Bulls return 4 of their 5 top scores from last year.

Leading the Bulls in the frontcourt will be Victor Rudd (9.3 ppg). Rudd declared for the draft but decided to come back to school. He is an excellent defender and attacking the rim but he must improve his shooting. Joining him up front will be Toarlyn Fitzpatrick (8 ppg). Fitzpatrick is a versatile forward, who can knock down threes to stretch the defense. The top option off the bench will likely be FAU transfer Kore White. He averaged 7.7ppg at FAU last season. Also providing depth is redshirt freshman Jordan Omogbehin and freshman Zach LeDay.

Point guard Anthony Collins(9 ppg) is back after a pretty solid freshman season. Collins proved last season that he is an excellent passer and defender and he could score off the dribble. Now he just needs to cut down on down on turnovers and become a better shooter. At shooting guard will likely by Shaun Noriega (3.6ppg). Noriega is really the only consistent shooter on this Bulls team. Also on the wing will be Jawanza Poland (8ppg). Just like the rest of the team he is very athletic a can get to the rim but he struggles shooting the ball. Providing depth here will be South Alabama transfer Martino Brock and JUCO transfer Musa Abdul-Aleem and freshman Javontate Hawkins. Brock averaged 14.2 ppg his last season at South Alabama.

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