Colleges

Recruits visit amid newfound fever

Basketball team looking to land big recruits

By Greg Auman
Published September 26, 2007

TAMPA - The excitement surrounding the football program is big enough that other teams on campus are trying to take advantage.

When No. 18 USF plays host to No. 5 West Virginia on Friday night, first-year men's basketball coach Stan Heath will make the most of the big event, bringing in three top recruits for official campus visits.

His guests this weekend will be two Charlotte, N.C., prospects, point guard Damier Pitts and forward Ken Gabriel, as well as Billy Rush, a 6-foot-7 junior college forward from Chicago.

Heath has three scholarships available for this class and has already made offers to Pitts and Gabriel; if the weekend goes well, he could have most of his first class wrapped up long before the early signing period in November.

Pitts is a 5-foot-11 point guard now at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, also considering offers from South Carolina and Marshall. Gabriel, 6-8 and 198 pounds, has visited Clemson and Winthrop, both closer to home, and is setting up visits to Auburn and Old Dominion.

"He'd be a good get for South Florida," said Shawn Wiseman, Gabriel's high school coach. "He wants to play at the highest level possible, so he's definitely interested in USF."

Rush, ranked as the No. 12 prospect in Illinois two years ago, hit 43 percent of his 3-pointers last season, averaging 8.3 points at Southeastern Community College in Iowa.

"He's very athletic, with long arms and a lot of perimeter skills," said John Pigatti, coach at South Suburban College, where Rush will play this year. "He's a very good rebounding guard, but he can shoot it, too."

Most of Jim Leavitt's top football recruits will be busy with their own games Friday, but the Bulls plan to have unofficial visits from about 25 recruits from high schools that have byes. That includes players from area teams such as River Ridge, Middleton and Lakewood, coached by former Bull Otis Dixon.

Not to be outdone, women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez had St. Petersburg Catholic's 6-3 Sasha Chaplin in for an official visit last weekend, along with twin guards Andrea and Andrell Smith of Lake Gibson, who have committed to USF. SPC coach Nick Vandewalle said Chaplin enjoyed her visit and has USF and Indiana as her top choices.

JOEY'S A FAN: Receiver Joey Galloway is among several Bucs who have requested sideline passes for Friday's game. Galloway predicted a USF victory during his weekly radio show on WDAE-AM 620. "Everyone, including me, is excited about USF being ranked in the Top 20," Galloway said. "We're going to pack the stadium. We're all going to be wearing green. ... I'm going to take USF."

THIS IS WHY I'M LOST: Despite USF's success, the Bulls are still introducing themselves to people across the nation. Friday's game will have a free pregame concert in the Raymond James Stadium parking lot from rapper Mims, known for his hit This Is Why I'm Hot. The tour page on his official Web site, mimsmusic.net, lists a Friday show at "U. Florida-Tampa" on Flower Avenue, no less.

THIS AND THAT: National media continue to join the credential list for Friday's game. Sports Illustrated is sending four photographers. ... Former USF cornerback Anthony Henry, who was the first Bull to score an NFL touchdown in 2001, did it again Sunday on an interception return in Dallas' win against Chicago. He leads the NFL with four picks. ... ESPN's Dick Vitale is making good on his promise to catch a USF football game this season. He'll attend Friday with his wife, grandkids and son-in-law Thomas Krug, a former Notre Dame quarterback.

Greg Auman can be reached at auman@sptimes.com and at (813) 226-3346. Check out his blog at blogs.tampabay.com/usf.

[Last modified September 26, 2007, 00:14:52]