Stan Heath Putting Together His 2011 Team

Coach Heath is bringing in 4 new players, hoping they can help turn around the team after a rough 2010-2011 season.

USF basketball is undergoing a big change today (and this week) and this does not involve the Sun Dome or Muma center. Coach Heath is seeing two players leave, Mike Burwell and Shedrick Haynes, and 4 new players joining the USF family. [keep reading]

Shedrick Haynes and Mike Burwell announced earlier this week that they are transferring out of USF. Haynes, the JUCO transfer from last season, will have one year left of eligibility in his senior season. Burwell is a sophomore and will have two years left after he sits out a season. Senior Alberto Damour and Jarrid Famous, were the only seniors leaving the program this year as well.

The Bulls are welcoming 4 new players (once they sign and make it official). Coach Heath first addressed the post position by recruiting two big centers. Andre Jackson (6'10" 285-pounds) and Jordan Omogbehin (7'2" 290-pounds) will be joining the Bulls and giving them a ton of skill and size inside the paint. Jackson is a JUCO transfer from Lee Community College and is a bit more polished on offense. Omogbehin is a big, raw talent that has the size, but needs to work on his post moves, but will make an immediate impact.

Heath was thin at point guard, but in the past few weeks, with Burwell and Haynes leaving, he has recruited two new guards to the roster. Prep star Anthony Collins (6' 175-pounds) is a pure point guard that has tremendous speed and ability to create on offense. The Bulls also have Blake Nash (6' 180-pounds), a JUCO freshman All-American. Nash is a scorer that can create his own shot and deal out as well, he will have 3 years of eligibility left.

The Bulls will also have Victor Rudd, the transfer from Arizona State last season. Heath and staff are very high on his young man and believe he can take over as the scoring threat for the Bulls, something the team struggled to find last year with DoJo leaving early to the NBA.

The team is still waiting on the decision of Augustus Gilchrist and his NBA fate and the return of Anthony Crater from shoulder surgery (may be out until late October).

The team is returning Ron Anderson Jr., Shaun Noriega, LaVonte Dority, JAWANZA Poland, Hugh Robertson, and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick (also Jordan Heath who red-shirted last season).

The team has the potential to improve on the 10 wins of this season. The Bulls have scoring threats now, more experience, post size, and now more speed and scoring ability at the biggest position, point guard. The Bulls played tough in every game and showed they are not intimidated by the Big East powers and can cause problems if a team decides to take it easy for a night. This is a solid team entering 2011 and should be fun to watch.