by Carter Brantley

USF men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim led the Bulls to one of the best seasons in program history last year, with USF finishing 25-8 for the year, an 11-win improvement from their 2022-2023 campaign.

South Florida managed 16 conference wins last year, the most in program history, with a 15-game winning streak sprinkled in and a top-25 ranking for the first time in school history.

They lost senior guard Selton Miguel, junior forward Kasean Pryor and, most notably, senior forward Chris Youngblood to the transfer portal, all key contributors to the 25-8 record, but there’s still plenty of reason for optimism despite being in a solid conference.

The Bulls were able to bring back starters Kobe Knox and Jayden Reid from last year’s team, the latter of whom was voted to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team for the American Athletic Conference.

Reid, entering his sophomore season, will hope to capitalize off more scoring opportunities and continue his elite 3-point shooting. His 47.5% from deep was the best ever for a USF freshman.

The Westbury, New York native was a member of the All-Freshman team in the AAC and set finished among the freshman leaders in South Florida history in 8 other categories.

Knox, a transfer from Grand Canyon University who started all 33 games last season, will fill out the backcourt with Reid and look to improve upon his 8.4 points per game.

Abdur-Rahim was also able to dip into that transfer portal, bringing in Jamille Reynolds, a center from Cincinnati, to shore up their rebounding, a sore spot for an otherwise fun and talented team from the successful 2023-2024 season.

The Bulls face some stiff competition from UAB and Memphis in the AAC, and they take on the University of Florida in Jacksonville to start the season on November 4th.

Their non-conference opponents are highlighted by the opening game against UF, with mostly matchups against smaller schools such as College of Charleston, for their first road game, and the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions in their home opener.

USF plays 18 games in the American Athletic Conference, playing six opponents both at home and on the road and the other six just once.

The Bulls are projected for a 3rd place finish in the conference, and Bulls fans can be cautiously optimistic that they’ll be able to fulfill this promise and continue their growth in the men’s basketball program under Abdur-Rahim.

Hopefully, this optimistic view can lead to an NCAA Tournament birth, despite the committee’s decision to omit the Bulls from the tourney last year.