July 18, 2003

The 2003-04 USF basketball team should be one of Coach Phil Mathews' deepest and most experienced teams that will begin a season in his ninth year on the Hilltop.

The team is coming off a very interesting 2002-03 season, one that saw the team start slowly (1-6) before transfers James Bayless and Alvin Broussard became eligible and fit into the scheme.

The Dons then picked up three straight wins, including a victory over a ranked BYU squad before a heartbreaking overtime loss at Cal which the Bears pulled out with a late three-pointer.

Then every coach's worst nightmare happened at Michigan, when USF lost leading scorer and rebounder Darrell Tucker for six games due to a separated thumb injury. The loss turned into a blessing, because the other players stepped up their game and the Dons won eight of their last 11 games to close out the season.

The team finished 15-14 overall after the 1-6 start and loses two key players, Tucker and third leading scorer Shamell Stallworth to graduation.

USF still has a very solid nucleus returning, including four players who started at least 20 games last year.

Leading the way is first team all-West Coast Coast Conference John Cox. Cox, the son of former USF All-WCC performer "Chubby Cox", made a name for himself as a junior. After Tucker's injury, he was USF's leading scorer the rest of the campaign, and ranked second in the league in scoring during WCC play with 18.9 per game. He also shot 50.3% from the floor, 47.8% from three-point and 83.3% from the charity stripe.

The frontcourt, although missing three-time all-WCC forward Darrell Tucker, will probably be as deep at it has been for a while.

Seniors Alvin Broussard and James Bayless made quite an impression in their USF debuts last year. Broussard (transfer from New Mexico) and Bayless (from Nevada) became eligible after fall finals.

Bayless was the team's fourth leading scorer with 10 points a game, and shot the ball at an impressive 54.9% clip, 55.4% in league play. He averaged 5.5 rebounds per game, best among returning players.

Broussard, who played with a injured knee last season, was impressive on both ends of the floor and averaged 8.3 points per contest. Expect to see even more athleticism from him this season.

Another senior, Mamadou Cisse, also played last year coming off an injury, and has bulked up for his senior season. The USF coaching staff expects him to be much more of a physical inside force as a senior.

In the backcourt, USF has junior Jason Gaines returning to run the point. Gaines, a candidate last year for WCC defender of the Year, led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.09) and was second in assists (5.2 per game) as well.

Senior Jovan Harris, who returned from a redshirt year in 2002-03, came on strong at the end of the year and definitely will be an offensive factor for USF this year. He can score in bunches on drives or three-point shots.

USF also returns another the player the coaches are very high on in 6'4" sophomore Jerome Gumbs, who missed last season with an injured back. Now ready to go, Jerome will also be a threat to shoot or attack the basket.

Coach Mathews and staff have additionally signed three newcomers who all should contribute in the near future.

The player who should have the most immediate impact is California State Junior College Player of the Year Tyrone Riley. The 6'7" Riley starred for state champion Los Angeles Community College where he averaged 13.7 points and 9.5 rebounds and shot 52% from the floor.

The Dons reached "down under" for the second time in Mathews' tenure recruiting 6-7 freshman Tom Burns from Australia. He has a lot of experience with both club and state teams. An excellent shooter, he averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds last season.

Another possible USF star of the future is Alan Wiggins, Jr., a 6-7 freshman forward who helped lead Horizon High School of San Diego to the state championship. He averaged 15.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Wiggins is an athletic player, who is the son of the late San Diego Padres star.

After the conclusion of finals, USF will add transfer Dommanic Ingerson, who transfered to USF in January. He is a shooter that will add a scoring touch from outside to the offense and help the Dons replace some of Stallworth's long range shooting.

"I think we should compete for one of the top positions in the league," said Mathews. "We will have an experienced team, with four people who started at least 20 games last season. We expect our returning upperclassmen to lead the way, paced by Cox, Broussard, Bayless, Cisse and Harris. We lost two key players in Tucker and Stallworth, but I feel the fact that last year's newcomers know the system, we are coming into the season healthier and we have added four quality recruits bodes well."

"I think we have a deep team that will allow for us to pressure more and run the floor."