Bulls open season Tuesday with exhibition vs. Tampa
TAMPA, Fla., (Oct. 31, 2022) – South Florida men’s basketball starts its 2022-23 season at home Tuesday with an exhibition game against the University of Tampa. Admission is free.
USF enters its sixth season under head coach Brian Gregory. Tampa is a Division II program that finished 16-10 last season.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and what to watch for against Tampa:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (0-0) vs. Tampa (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 1
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: N/A
Radio: 102.5 HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited
History: The Bulls and the Spartans have met four times in the regular season, between 1986-1989, with each team winning twice. All four games were home games for the Bulls.
The Opponent: Tampa is a member of the Sunshine State Conference. Tampa was picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason coach’s poll.
The Bulls return nine players – including five who started at least nine games – 59 percent of its scoring, 70 percent of its rebounding and 61 percent of its minutes played from last season.
Still, there are quite a few questions about this USF team heading into the season. Here are four:
Will the offense show improvement from last season?
Among American Athletic Conference teams, USF finished dead last in points scored (1,781) and average points per game (57.5) last season. If the Bulls are to show improvement this season, they absolutely must be more productive on offense.
Gone is Caleb Murphy, who started at point guard in all 31-games he appeared in last season. Murphy, who was still learning how to play the point guard position, led the Bulls in scoring, assists and turnovers. He has been replaced by Memphis graduate transfer Tyler Harris.
Harris played three seasons at Memphis, including on the 2022 NCAA Tournament team, and one season at Iowa State (2020-21), while accumulating 1,133 career points. Harris left the Tigers with the fifth-most three-pointers made all-time (192) and set a new program record for career free throw percentage at 86.1 percent.
Harris has a high basketball IQ, a terrific feel for the game, and is the best perimeter shooter at the lead guard position that Gregory has had at USF since Stephan Jiggetts made 39.9 percent of his threes in the 2017-18 season.
This offseason, a consistent theme we have heard from Gregory, USF recruits and, in one case, a recruit’s father, is that the Bulls want to play fast. This exhibition game may not be the best barometer of that but it should give fans a glimpse of what is to come this season.
Which returning player looks like they will take the biggest step forward?
As he enters his second season in Tampa Sam Hines Jr. is looking to make the step from role player to significant contributor. One of only three Bulls to play in all 31 games during his first season at USF, Hines started 13-games, including eight of the final nine games of the season. He averaged 17.8 minutes, 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game to go along with 23 assists, 21 steals and 14 blocked shots. He did score a season-best 12 points vs. Cincinnati in the Yuengling Center and at Temple, unfortunately, Hines only made 1-of-11 three-pointers all season. If he is to take a big step forward, Hines will have to be more productive on offense this season. He can start by cutting down turnovers and making more open jump shots. According to reports, Hines has been shooting the ball well during the offseason.
Will Jamir Chaplin become more consistent offensively?
Jamir Chaplin scored in double figures in twelve of the 27-games he appeared in last season. He was also third in points and scoring averages last season. Where he wasn’t consistent offensively was in perimeter shooting (nobody was). Chaplin trailed only Javon Greene and D.J. Patrick in three-point attempts (74) but he only made 17.6 percent of those shots. If Chaplin can consistently play the way he did during a four game stretch that began on Christmas Day against Wyoming, when he averaged 16 points on 47.7 percent shooting (35.7 percent 3FG), we’d be talking about an all-conference player.
One thing for certain is that Chaplin is a worker. He put in the work to improve his free throw shooting from 41.3 percent his sophomore season to 73.0 percent his junior season. Hopefully, we see similar growth in his three-point shooting from his junior season to his senior season.
What will Ryan Conwell’s role look like as a freshman?
As an under the radar recruit, Ryan Conwell enters college without lofty expectations but also in a favorable situation for his long-term development. With experienced guards/wings like Harris, Chaplin, Selton Miguel and Serrel Smith Jr. on the roster, Conwell won’t be forced into playing major minutes from day one. That should allow the USF staff to deploy the 2022 Marion County (Indiana) Player of the Year against second-unit backcourt players. A talented lefty scorer who is crafty with the basketball and really defends, Conwell will get minutes but keep in mind that he will do something at some point to remind you that he is a freshman.