USF MBB needs an offensive spark

Blake Nash and others have to do more on offense if the Bulls are going to make some noise in conference play.

With the Big East portion schedule beginning tomorrow, the 7-6 Bulls are still looking for the spark on offense. The Bulls are averaging just 61.2 points per game, ranking them 303rd in the country (yes, there are that many teams playing in the college ranks). While the team has only played 13 games so far, they have yet to find the one player that can take over a game and carry the load on offense when needed.

Now the Bulls play a balanced style of offense, running sets and designed plays, moving the ball and getting the open shot. But the Bulls are not making their open shots with enough consistency, leading to tight games and defensive struggles. When the Bulls won 20 games just two years ago, Dominique Jones could carry a team on his back when necessary and was consistently the go-to scorer for Heath. USF lacked that last year and so far, they are lacking it again.

Gilchrist is averaging 11 points a game, but has not taken over a game. At 6-10, he has the size and skill to dominate the paint, but settles for fadeaways and tends to shoot mid-range jumpers, making his offensive performance shaky at times. Gilchrist is the veteran scorer for the Bulls but has to come up bigger than what he has been doing to start the season.

Victor Rudd, who Heath praised at the start of the season as the next big time scorer, has been quiet since his 30 point performance against Marist. He has the size and athletic ability, but he doesn't seem to be in sync with the offense at times and won't have the ball in his hands for stretches of time. If he is the next go-to scorer for USF, he has to assert himself on the court. He did sit out a season, so it will take him some time to get use to the pace of live action, but for all the hard work he put in over the offseason, the results are limited so far.

Another player, Blake Nash, has struggled to find his range since coming over from the JUCO ranks. Nash is fast and has the range, but is averaging just 6.7 points a game off the bench and is shooting just 26% from 3-point range. His minutes continue to vary in each game, but he has to hit his open shots whenever Heath puts him into the game.

USF has to find a spark on offense and more consistency. While it may not be one player to take over the scoring load, the production has to increase if USF wants to stand a chance in the Big East this season and get more than 10 wins. Maybe Poland can help create more of a spark, but whoever it is, they need to step up and rise quickly.