Final Statistics and Results

By Jim Young
 
As Kyle Smith found out in his first-year as head coach, there's a fine line between living in the moment while eying the future.
 
It was a just about a year ago when Smith inherited a roster which returned just six players that accounted for just 30 percent of the scoring and rebounding production from the previous year and included 13 underclassmen.
 
After an 11-month whirlwind season that began in Düsseldorf, Germany and concluded in Houston, Texas, Smith can finally catch his breath and look back with some satisfaction on a 20-13 season which culminated with an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational.
 
"I'd give us an A-minus," said Smith. "There was a lot of transition with our staff and players that I thought went really smooth. If we were doing this in our third year here I'd be really pleased. We out-kicked our coverage this year."
 
High points included a 10-2 start with signature wins over Utah and Illinois State, 10 wins in WCC play for just the third time since 1985-86, a school-record 299 three-pointers and marked improvement on the defensive end of the floor, where Dons' opponents averaged 11 fewer points than the year before. Senior Ronnie Boyce morphed into one of the most productive sixth man in the country and led the team in scoring with a 13.6 average.
 
"We didn't set a lot of goals before the season other than to get better every day," said Smith. "I was once part of program that was picked to finish fifth in the conference and ended up in the Sweet 16. That's the narrative we adopted. I feel really good about where we are at with the understanding there is a lot of room for improvement. It's a good start, for sure.
 
"If there was one goal we had in mind it was to improve defensively," Smith continued. "To be able to compete we knew we had to improve on the defensive end of the floor. The year before, they were ranked 294th in defense and our goal was just to get to average – around 175 – and we got to 60th. I've always believed you're going to achieve what you emphasis. Our goals were to defend, rebound and take care of the ball. Hopefully we can continue to maintain our defensive mentality while continuing to improve on the other parts."
 
USF's 2016-17 season was much about its future as the present, as a total of 13-underlcassmen helped deliver the program's third 20-win season in the last 30 years. Charles Minlend and Jordan Ratinho, who combined to make 41 starts during the year, occupied two of the five spots on the WCC's All-Freshmen team. Minlend was the third-highest scoring freshmen in the WCC behind BYU's TJ Haws and Gonzaga's Zack Collins, tallying a total of 329 points on the year, which ranked seventh all-time among USF freshmen. Ratinho led the team in minutes played, underscoring Smith's confidence in the steady freshman.
 
"We were one of the youngest teams in the country," said Smith. "We didn't have a situation where we were able to ease our freshmen into lopsided games. Both Charles (Minlend) and Jordan (Ratinho) were mainstays in the rotation from the get-go and eventually worked themselves into the starting lineup. Our sophomores - Nate (Renfro), Frankie (Ferrari), Matt (McCarthy) and Mladen (Djordjevic) - also made significant strides this season."
 
What's next?
 
"The next step will be focused around the individual growth of all of our players," said Smith. "For example, Charles was very productive coming off the bench for us and earned a starting role. Now suddenly, he is a marked man and is getting the other team's best defender. Chase (Foster) took a huge jump from his sophomore to junior year and was the most improved player on the team. He has the potential to be an all-conference player for us next year and you really need three all-conference players if you are going to be successful in this league."
 
Something USF will have in its favor next year is continuity, as the Dons are projected to lose only one player off this year's squad in Boyce, who will graduate in May. After having to replace close to 70 percent of its scoring production each of the past two seasons, the Dons will be an experienced squad entering the 2017-18 campaign, returning eight players with starting experience.
 
"Continuity in any basketball program is a key element to its success," said Smith. "It's no secret teams that have a lot of success usually return a high percentage of their players and production from the year before. We're set up pretty good for the next few years since we'll only lose one player this year and next to graduation. We'll hopefully be able to close the gap and be what USF Basketball is capable of being."
 
2016-17 in Review
Record: 20-13 (10-8 WCC; t-4th)
Postseason: College Basketball Invitational (First Round)
Best Wins: Utah and Illinois State
Leading Scorer: Ronnie Boyce (13.6)
Leading Rebounder: Matt McCarthy (5.5)
Field Goal Percentage (min. 100 attempts): Matt McCarthy (.505)
Three-Pointers Made: Jordan Ratinho (55)
Assists: Mladen Djordjevic (73)
Blocks: Nate Renfro (30)
School Records: Three-pointers made (299)
All-WCC Players: Ronnie Boyce (2nd Team), Charles Minlend (Freshmen), Jordan Ratinho (Freshmen)
WCC All-Academic: Chase Foster (1st Team) and Nate Renfro (1st Team)
Graduation Losses: Ronnie Boyce
Starters Returning / Lost: 5 / 0
 
Jim Young '85 returned to his alma mater as an associate athletic director in 2012.