Sports: USF center Bernard is off to good start

USF center Bernard is off to good start

The 6-11 transfer, starting for the depleted Bulls, shows he can score but has to work on his aggressiveness.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH

TAMPA -- Since the opening days of preseason practice, Mike Bernard has been preparing for the time when he might be needed in a prominent role in the South Florida lineup.

The junior transfer from Manchester, England, and Coffeyville Community College, has waited all season for his chance in the spotlight.

He had no idea his time would come in this manner.

With star forward B.B. Waldon suspended, steady senior forward Chonsey Asbury out after surgery this week and other injuries affecting teammates, Bernard got his first start Wednesday night.

By his own admission, he's not completely ready. He still has things on which to work. But it's now or never and Bernard hopes to be an asset to this team.

In Wednesday's loss to Memphis, he scored 13 points, but had just two rebounds.

"I thought he did a lot of good things, he's just got to rebound better," USF coach Seth Greenberg said. "He can't play 20 minutes and get two rebounds."

Bernard realizes that too.

"I know I can score," the 6-11, 280-pound center said. "I know I can score. But there are certain things that I can't do that I'm trying to work on now. It's going to take a lot of work. ... I've got to work on my defense, my boxing out and rebounding on top of it."

Bernard is a former member of the English national team, for which he averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. He also averaged 8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks at Coffeyville.

But NCAA Division I basketball -- and Conference USA -- is altogether different.

"It's just that I have never experienced this kind of ball before," Bernard said. "When I played at home, everything just came to me -- rebounds, scoring. But now I know I've got to work for it because I'm playing in a different league, a different system and against a lot better people."

Greenberg said Bernard, 22, must find a way to overcome his generally passive nature.

"His thing is he's got to pursue the ball," Greenberg said. "He actually will block out most times, but he doesn't pursue the ball -- he waits on it. That's a little bit of his nature. But it's also learning to play at this intensity. It's a little more intense here than with the Manchester Giants. I thought Mike gave us some good minutes (Wednesday). He was aggressive, we got him the ball. He gave us a presence."

The Bulls have lost two straight and are battling fatigue and injuries. Even Bernard is suffering from a bruised bone below his left kneecap that is painful when he runs and feels like a pounding in his kneecap when he shoots.

"It's going to take time to heal, but we don't have time so I have to play with it," he said.

Greenberg said Bernard might start today. Bernard said he's working as hard as he can to ensure that his stats -- particularly his rebounding -- will improve. His teammates remain confident in his ability.

"He knows that he has to be ready any time to step in," senior Cedric Smith said. "He respects the guys who are ahead of him and he comes in every day and works hard. He's trying to get caught up with the chemistry right now, playing with the other four guys. It's hard to come from just practicing things to getting in the game and doing it. It's very, very different. But he'll be all right."

Bernard hopes that eventually, he'll be better than just all right.

"B.B. and Altron (Jackson) need a lot of the pressure taken off of them, they need somebody else to step up," he said. "Chonsey stepped up when he was here, but now he's hurt so somebody else has to step up. Art (Reeves) can't really step up the way he wants to because he is hurt. I took an injury and I've been trying to step up in practice, but the injury kind of knocked me back down. Now I just have to fight back and get back into it. I'm trying very hard. I'm working every day."