close
close

USF Basketball offers tips to think about more than just basketball

USF Basketball offers tips to think about more than just basketball

TAMPA, Fla. – The USF men’s basketball team opened the exhibition season with a 94-51 victory over Edward Waters at the Yuengling Center. The game won’t be counted as an official win for the Bulls, but it feels good to even be back on the field. USF head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim died during a medical procedure last week.

“To God be the glory.” This statement was used frequently by Abdur-Rahim and was adopted by interim coach Ben Fletcher on Wednesday evening.

“I’m happy to be back on the floor after so much in the last few days,” grinned Fletcher. “I was just happy and proud that these guys were able to step up and play in a way to honor Coach Amir like we always wanted.”

USF Basketball 2.png

WFTS

The Bulls open the regular season on Monday night against #21 Florida in Jacksonville.

USF point guard Jayden Reid says the Bulls players want to get back to doing what they do best because that’s the best way for them to respond to tragedy.

“It’s all God’s plan, as coach Amir would tell us. “I’m excited to be back out there on the court,” Reid said after scoring 13 points in Wednesday’s win. “Every time we go out there, we do it for him. We put the (jersey) patch there. It’s a sad moment, but he left a legacy and we’re carrying it forward.”

Reid and his teammate Brandon Stroud told me that the biggest lessons they learned from coach Amir had nothing to do with basketball.

“Living a great life and helping others. Go out of your way to help someone,” Reid added. “Make someone else feel better about their day.”

“My husband is at Starbucks giving out free Starbucks. He’s just making someone else happy. It’s not always about you,” Stroud said after scoring nine points against EWU. “Make someone happy. Don’t get in your own way. Just help someone else.”

Fletcher knows this season will be full of emotions, but he knows emotions aren’t the only thing that will lead this team to success.

“I want them to embrace discipline. Doing difficult things the right way over and over again,” Fletcher added. “That’s what we want because it’s what coach Amir would have wanted. And we want to make sure we do our part to keep his name alive.”

USF will host a celebration of life for Coach Amir at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Yuengling Center. The celebration is free and open to the public.

The Bulls open the regular season on Monday night when they take on #21 Florida in Jacksonville. USF opens its home schedule on November 12th when it hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

USF Basketball.png

WFTS

Kobe Knox goes up for an easy dunk in the Bulls’ 94-51 win over Edward Waters University.