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I didn't know whether to start a new thread on the '16-'17 season for USF WBB, or to just continue posting in this one, since the subject heading is generic.

So, I decided to post this article here which you might find to be helpful in learning about our new team.

USF'S WINNING RECIPE HAS INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

USF's Winning Recipe Has International Flavor

upload_2016-7-22_17-38-18.png


  1. USF W. Basketball ‏@USFWBB Jul 21
    14 teammates, 8 countries, 1 goal

  2. #InternationalFlavor

 
Thanks for reviving this thread. I completely forgot they got Jazz Bond.
 
Only two more months and we can start discussing practices and rumors and all that good stuff...can't wait!
 
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Unlike UCONN who can just reload each new season and still be at least a top five team, USF doesn't have the depth to consistently remain in the top 25 or even to guarantee a return to the NCAA tourney.

Year in and year out we will at least be a WNIT team, regardless of turnover.

We lost a great deal of starting talent, with three of our main women leaving.

A player such as Courtney Williams is not someone who comes to USF all that often.

Having said that, I am still confident that the new team will "eventually" make it back to the dance. It may be too much to ask for that to become a reality this season.

However, hope springs eternal and, I would not be all that surprised if they did achieve that goal immediately.

On paper, USF will be much bigger and more athletic than in recent years.

We've also brought in more offensive firepower.

So, it will no longer be the Courtney Williams show.

I expect that there will be much more balanced scoring on the team.

The question really is, how long will it take for all the pieces to fall into place.

The early season W/L record is very important for developing an NCAA resume, because the AAC is a weak WBB conference.

I don't know our preseason schedule.

I know that we play UL at home in January. By that time we will be more settled, but considering how good Louisville is expected to be, it would be a big ask for this young USF team to win that game. Of course stranger things have happened. :cool:
 
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This past Saturday, USF Athletic Dept held a fan fest with all teams present.

I had a chance to speak with all of the WBB players as well as our coach.

USF is waiting for release of the AAC conference schedule before issuing our preseason schedule, but I was given some names of teams. Suffice to say, we will play quite a few quality schools. Of course, it is no where near as tough as your schedule, but it will give us a real opportunity to test ourselves early against some stiff competition.

Here are a couple of pics from that event:

USF W. Basketball ‏@USFWBB Aug 27Tampa, FL
Together again! #Family #GoBulls #USFFanFest16

Cq4DT-JVIAA5VH9.jpg


USF W. Basketball ‏@USFWBB Aug 27
Who needs a selfie stick? #USFFanFest16 #GoBulls

Cq4FZo7XYAA6jDH.jpg


More pics can be found at that same USF WBB twitter link.
 
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Thanks for all the pics and updates. I am anxious to see how Jose Fernadez and staff can mold all these players into an elite team. In addition to BB, there are lots of barriers to overcome. Hope the very best for the Bulls in this coming season!!!
 
@USFMB I recently saw Jazz Bond, Crystal Dangerfield's HS teammate listed at 6'4". Dec 2015 she was listed at 6'2". Is that real growth or college inflation?
 
As always, Barbara and the DogWarden will be crossing the state from Ponce Inlet to Tampa when UConn visits USF. It's a great campus and the Sun Dome very nice arena with EZ parking. It also has a large bar and lounge overlooking the arena. I usually try to buy tickets on StubHub in sections that have access to the bar and lounge facility.

Tampa is a great town with lots to do. We usually stay for two nights. The "Riverwalk" district is near downtown on the river with lots of restaurants and watering holes and other sites to see. A great way to spend an evening.

BUT, the best part is the game. Jose Fernandez, his players and the USF fans provide one of the best road game atmospheres year in and year out.

We can't wait for the game.
 
CocoHusky said:
@USFMB I recently saw Jazz Bond, Crystal Dangerfield's HS teammate listed at 6'4". Dec 2015 she was listed at 6'2". Is that real growth or college inflation?
Expand ...

Funny you should mention that. I actually had Jazz and K Weber stand side by side at the fan fest to see their height difference.

Weber is a legitimate 6'5".

Jazz is more or less about an inch shorter.

IMO, Jazz is 6'4" or very close to that.

USF lists Jazz as 6'3" and Weber at 6'5".

In this pic, Jazz looks taller than Weber who is next to her. However, if you look closely, Jazz is up on her toes in order to be seen better.

CqbI0RjXYAAlK4f.jpg
 
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warbler13 said:
Thanks for all the pics and updates. I am anxious to see how Jose Fernadez and staff can mold all these players into an elite team. In addition to BB, there are lots of barriers to overcome. Hope the very best for the Bulls in this coming season!!!
Expand ...

Last season, we only had two new players. So, it was pretty easy to pick Laksa as the one to watch.

This year with SIX new players, it is very difficult to pick out just one who could be the difference maker.

The obvious choice would be D Nagy who is rated 5 stars by ESPN and the #1 European player.

Less obvious would be N DeJesus a JUCO All-American PG who is not even listed by ESPN. However, she might end up being a better 3 point shooter than Laksa, since she shot about 50% from beyond the arc. In fact, I asked Laksa at the fan fest about her and they already have been competing to see who is best with the long ball in practice.

Another star in the making might be Enna Pehadzik from Denmark. She is rated 4 stars on ESPN. She is very athletic and would be the new player who most closely resembles Courtney Williams, in being able to penetrate and score.

As for Jazz and the other two new women, they can all score and rebound. It will be fun to see which one will set herself apart from the others and become a mainstay in the starting lineup.

2016 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits - South Florida - ESPN
 
It seems to me that your coaching staff is by now quite experienced with integrating new and international players into their system. The rules are different than in the US, noticed that at the Rio games. Laksa was a freshman and she was a great shooter last year. I predict that USF will surprise lots of people and will be a contender at the end of the season.
 
warbler13 said:
It seems to me that your coaching staff is by now quite experienced with integrating new and international players into their system. The rules are different than in the US, noticed that at the Rio games. Laksa was a freshman and she was a great shooter last year. I predict that USF will surprise lots of people and will be a contender at the end of the season.
Expand ...

All of the international players at USF have played for their national teams. As such they generally come in as freshman more mature and with more experience against elite competition.

Both Nagy (Hungary) and Enna P (Denmark) were stars on their FIBA teams.

This past summer, Laia Flores was one of the stars on the U-20 Spanish team which won the European Championship. She has played for Spain the past eight years. I am hoping that she will have a breakout season at USF.
 
USFMB said:
I've never started a thread here.

USF WBB had a media day yesterday and the AAC conference media day is coming up in a few days, and thought that this would be a good topic for discussion during the season.

USF has never even been to the final 16. The closest they ever came was last year when they lost by a handfull to Louisville in the round of 32.

The consensus, here in Tampa, is that this will be the best USF WBB in history.

So, how far can they go?

Some USF players believe that they can get to the final 4!

Jeff Odom ‏@ByJeffOdom 23h23 hours ago
Here at #USF hoops media day. @USFWBB's Alisia Jenkins says she believes this team can get to the Final Four.

Aside from bringing back their starting five, and seven of nine of their top scorers, USF is just giddy over freshman Kitija Laska and her three-point ability.

Some other tweets from yesterday:


11:24 AM - 22 Oct 2015 Collin Sherwin ‏@USFCollin 22h22 hours agoI walk into @USFWBB scrimmage, & Kitija Laska comes off a baseline screen for a 3 that's so pure I shed a tear. THEY'RE GONNA BE SO GOOD.
    1. 11:44 AM - 22 Oct 2015
    2. Michael Medlin ‏@mtmedlin1976 22h22 hours ago
    3. @USFCollin @USFWBB she's ridiculous. She hit five in a row at the rec.... And it was smooth as butter.
      • 11:44 AM - 22 Oct 2015 ·

  2. 11:37 AM - 22 Oct 2015
    Collin Sherwin ‏@USFCollin 22h22 hours ago
    BREAKING: @USFWBB MAKES EVERYTHING. This is the most ridiculous practice I've ever seen. Holy Mother of God.
As for myself, I expect us to be better and would "settle" for a final 16 appearance. LOL
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WHAT YEAR IS THIS ??
 
USF released its non conference WBB schedule today.

Aside from UL, it doesn't have any top 10 teams.

Considering all the new USF players, it seems to be tough enough to get them acclimated quickly while still having a realistic opportunity to win most of the games and still maintain a respectable RPI.

" “I think this schedule will challenge our team to get us prepared for the grind of the AAC conference schedule in January and February,” said Fernandez. “From an RPI and strength of schedule standpoint, I think we have done our job to put our team in a position for opportunities to play for quality wins in the non-conference schedule.”

Challenging non-conference slate will test Bulls
 
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USFMB said:
Our first three early signees are all from the USA:

Jazzmaine Bond (Tenn), Tamara Henshaw (Florida), Shae Leverett (Georgia).

Jazz Bond is a teammate of your commit Crystal Dangerfield.

Those three players are all between 6-1 and 6-4 and can all score, which is something we have been lacking. They will hopefully replace the rebounding and scoring which we have lost with the departure of A. Jenkins.

Considering we needed to replace C Williams, we went outside the country for an athletic guard, Enna P, from Denmark (ranked #10 player in Europe by prospects Nation) and recently athletic SF Nagy (#1 European player by Blue Star Europe).

We lost a starting PG and this JUCO more than makes up for her (on paper).

As I mentioned in previous posts, up until now we have not, generally, been successful recruiting top 100 American players. We've only landed a handful over the years. The obvious reason for that is because the elite WBB schools usually gobble them up.

So, we need to try and find the equivalent elsewhere, if we can.

Hopefully, that will change for 2017, since we are mentioned by a number of top 100 players mostly from Florida and many have been to a number of our basketball games during the past few years.

The problem is that UCONN, ND, LOU and many other NAME WBB teams are also after them. So, it's very tough competition for USF. Our resume is getting better and so we are now being looked at by some of them. Hopefully, we will have some success. They would be our FIRST option (as always).
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First of all, sincere congratulations. Hopefully USF can improve this year to the point they can help bare some of the weight of the AAC conference that UConn has been carrying the last 3 years. USF has been the only serious AAC rival to UConn since it's inception. The more USF and the other members of the conference improve, the more the "optics" of the AAC will improve.

When member schools can win OOC/preseason tournament games that include a top 25 program (and go deep in the NCAA tourny), it not only makes that AAC school look good, but it also gives the conference some positive strokes too. I wish the bottom feeders of the conference (Houston & Cincinnati) could improve as much this year too.

Unless and until members of the AAC women's basketball conference can consistently win games against top 25 programs, they will continue to be perceived as a lower mid-major conference. The AAC will NEVER attract top 40 programs into the conference, so the only way to achieve national recognition and respect is to become extremely competitive, and win games against ranked programs. Just like members of the old "BIG East" conference did.
 
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USFMB said:
Unlike UCONN who can just reload each new season and still be at least a top five team, USF doesn't have the depth to consistently remain in the top 25 or even to guarantee a return to the NCAA tourney.

Year in and year out we will at least be a WNIT team, regardless of turnover.

We lost a great deal of starting talent, with three of our main women leaving.

A player such as Courtney Williams is not someone who comes to USF all that often.

Having said that, I am still confident that the new team will "eventually" make it back to the dance. It may be too much to ask for that to become a reality this season.

However, hope springs eternal and, I would not be all that surprised if they did achieve that goal immediately.

On paper, USF will be much bigger and more athletic than in recent years.

We've also brought in more offensive firepower.

So, it will no longer be the Courtney Williams show.

I expect that there will be much more balanced scoring on the team.

The question really is, how long will it take for all the pieces to fall into place.

The early season W/L record is very important for developing an NCAA resume, because the AAC is a weak WBB conference.

I don't know our preseason schedule.

I know that we play UL at home in January. By that time we will be more settled, but considering how good Louisville is expected to be, it would be a big ask for this young USF team to win that game. Of course stranger things have happened. :cool:
Expand ...

I believe it was last year, USF lost to Baylor by 3 points. With the infusion of this new talent, maybe now he can win a close game like that. USF is closing the gap. :cool:
 
Carnac said:
If USF could get and maintain a top 25 ranking, that would not only improve the overall perception of the AAC by outsiders just a bit, but take some of the pressure off of UConn as being the only member of the conference that's ranked.

The teams that make the final 4 are at the top of the mountain, where the air is very thin. Every year there are very good teams that don't make it. This year, there will be some very good teams that won't make the cut.

You've got to be completely healthy (none of your key players injured or sidelined), put points on the board, and be able to make stops consistently, and play mistake free basketball for 40 minutes.

As I've commented before in prior posts, the rest of the member schools should not be concerned about catching and over taking UConn, they must concentrate on catching and passing all of the programs between them, and the program ranked 25th. If you're not in the top 25, there's a reason. Get in the top 25 first, then set your sights on the top five teams.

If you have aspirations of knocking off UConn, you've at least got to be on the same street. The rest of the programs in the AAC aren't even in the neighborhood yet. :oops: Some of those programs have a long way to go.
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I'm not sure who USF retained on the team I would hope they are equal or better than last year.
You need to start a foundation to promote AAC teams to break the 30 barrier. The AAC team are doing better, the Uconn syndrome, as you know teams cannot get better in a vacuum or without the direct and constant influence of Management /AD's . Money--is the fluid that makes good BB team run.
I highlighted in you posting the true-ism of the AAC.
 
Carnac said:
Fernandez is making a serious effort in bring in the best talent available to improve his program. Two thumbs up!! I applaud his efforts. :)
Expand ...
Senior Fernandez is energetic, engaged, and recruits well from overseas--his United Nations team played exceptionally well with American Kids. Watching them play Uconn is a pleasure--and causes some anxieties --for the first Quarter or 2.
 
BroadwayVa said:
Senior Fernandez is energetic, engaged, and recruits well from overseas--his United Nations team played exceptionally well with American Kids. Watching them play Uconn is a pleasure--and causes some anxieties --for the first Quarter or 2.
Expand ...

USF games are always looked froward to by UConn fans. After the Christmas break, and before the NCAA tourney, they are the toughest team they'll play.
Three things we know about USF.
1. They will play the Huskies for 40 minutes with a "no fear" attitude/approach.
2. They're not going to let us blow them out. They may not win, but they'll keep it respectable. They'll play us tough, and give us a good game.
3. They don't fear UConn. Fernandez (like McGraw/Notre Dame) looks forward to playing us. There are not a lot of teams that truly don' want to play UConn because of the anticipated beat-down/blow out that usually comes with it. Nobody enjoys being on the receiving end of an embarrassing blow out, especially if it's on national TV, which a lot of UConn's games are. :eek:
 
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Carnac said: ↑
If USF could get and maintain a top 25 ranking, that would not only improve the overall perception of the AAC by outsiders just a bit, but take some of the pressure off of UConn as being the only member of the conference that's ranked.

The teams that make the final 4 are at the top of the mountain, where the air is very thin. Every year there are very good teams that don't make it. This year, there will be some very good teams that won't make the cut.

You've got to be completely healthy (none of your key players injured or sidelined), put points on the board, and be able to make stops consistently, and play mistake free basketball for 40 minutes.

As I've commented before in prior posts, the rest of the member schools should not be concerned about catching and over taking UConn, they must concentrate on catching and passing all of the programs between them, and the program ranked 25th. If you're not in the top 25, there's a reason. Get in the top 25 first, then set your sights on the top five teams.

If you have aspirations of knocking off UConn, you've at least got to be on the same street. The rest of the programs in the AAC aren't even in the neighborhood yet. :oops: Some of those programs have a loooong way to go.


BroadwayVa said:

I'm not sure who USF retained on the team I would hope they are equal or better than last year.
You need to start a foundation to promote AAC teams to break the 30 barrier. The AAC team are doing better, the Uconn syndrome, as you know teams cannot get better in a vacuum or without the direct and constant influence of Management /AD's . Money--is the fluid that makes good BB team run.
I highlighted in you posting the true-ism of the AAC.
Expand ...

Wow, I wrote that comment last year, during the season. My comment: "Every year there are very good teams that don't make it. This year, there will be some very good teams that won't make the cut", was very prophetic, as three #1 seeds failed to make the final four. That post written last year is still current. :D
 
Carnac said:
Carnac said: ↑
If USF could get and maintain a top 25 ranking, that would not only improve the overall perception of the AAC by outsiders just a bit, but take some of the pressure off of UConn as being the only member of the conference that's ranked.

The teams that make the final 4 are at the top of the mountain, where the air is very thin. Every year there are very good teams that don't make it. This year, there will be some very good teams that won't make the cut.

You've got to be completely healthy (none of your key players injured or sidelined), put points on the board, and be able to make stops consistently, and play mistake free basketball for 40 minutes.

As I've commented before in prior posts, the rest of the member schools should not be concerned about catching and over taking UConn, they must concentrate on catching and passing all of the programs between them, and the program ranked 25th. If you're not in the top 25, there's a reason. Get in the top 25 first, then set your sights on the top five teams.

If you have aspirations of knocking off UConn, you've at least got to be on the same street. The rest of the programs in the AAC aren't even in the neighborhood yet. :oops: Some of those programs have a loooong way to go.




Wow, I wrote that comment last year, during the season. My comment: "Every year there are very good teams that don't make it. This year, there will be some very good teams that won't make the cut", was very prophetic, as three #1 seeds failed to make the final four. That post written last year is still current. :D
Expand ...
USF finished last year in the top 25 in both the AP and coaches polls

DI Women's College Basketball Rankings - USA Today Coaches | NCAA.com
 
While trying to wait patiently, (without too much success), for the WBB season to begin, I devour any tidbits I can get on the team. Thought, I'd share something I saw on twitter with you.

This is a short, cute, video (5 secs) of some of our "international" players shooting from the free throw line and beyond. Hope you enjoy.

USF W. Basketball ‏@USFWBB 3h3 hours ago
USF W. Basketball Retweeted Coach Jeff Osterman

Lookin' good coach! #InternationalFlavor

USF W. Basketball added,

T1QrbH-2TSl8dBP3.jpg

0:05
Coach Jeff Osterman @coachosterman
4 in row @USFWBB

That pic might not play as the intended video. Perhaps this one works for you.

 
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