It was 4 o'clock Thursday morning when the South Florida men's basketball team arrived back on campus. It had been a glorious night: A what-else-do-you-want? win at Louisville, the kind that gets you more than in NCAA Tournament conversations _ the kind that gets you in .
Anyway, the chartered plane that was to have brought USF back from Kentucky had mechanical problems. They had to find in another plane to fetch Stan Heath and his team. The Bulls kept checking the Internet and saw that many bracket brains were finally aboard. Bulls World bubbled over. It's a surprise they even needed a plane to fly home.
"And when we got home, even though it was 4 in the morning, there were 10 kids there, students," Heath said. "They were holding signs, wearing the colors. It was fun and it was touching. Hey, you have to start somewhere."
And this might be just beginning.
Fasten your seat belt, Tampa.
They belong.
This is the best sports story in town.
Today, USF plays West Virginia at the Forum. Then it's on to the Big East Tournament. And maybe you know what after that.
First things first.
"I just got off the radio," Bulls senior forward Ron Anderson Jr. said Thursday. "They said the lower bowl at the Forum is sold out and we still have two more days left."
Maybe that says where USF still is _ 10 kids waving signs is a mob, and just filling the lower bowl matters _ but this team and its season out of nowhere has been such a wondrous gift.
It's been 20 years since the USF men last made the NCAA Tournament, and 20 years since they even had a real chance. Even bubble talk matters. USF has lived on the blister for two decades. The basketball program has been completely out of the conversation, not just tournament talk, but any talk, anywhere, including here. It's been a flyspeck.
But this is big.
Of course, it can go away with a badly-placed loss this afternoon. But with that win at Louisville, all or at least many detractors fell away and USF's 19-11 record, 12-5 in the Big East, stood taller.
"I think we deserve to be in," Heath said Thursday at the Lakeland Center, where, on no sleep, he watched his son, Josh, help Tampa Prep win a state basketball title. Nothing could top that. Still ?
"We deserve to be in. I think it's a slam dunk if we win Saturday," Heath said. "We've got to keep winning. But I definitely think that anyone who has watched us, we've passed the eyeball test."
In some ways, South Florida has already won. It has been forever since there was even a ripple of madness around here. We're talking about USF basketball in March. And it's not just make-believe. Two seasons ago, when USF won 21 games, no one outside the program, and maybe some inside, seriously believed USF was an NCAA Tournament team.
This is different.
These Bulls deserve to dance.
"How long has it been, 20 years?" Anderson said. "I was 2 years old."
He looked out on the USF practice floor, at Bulls freshman point guard Anthony Collins.
"He wasn't here," Anderson said.
He's here now, and so is everyone else on this team. It might be the birth of a March to remember.
"It would hurt if we didn't make it, because I think we should be in," Heath said.
This town wouldn't know what hit it. Or maybe it would. After all, the lower bowl at the Forum is sold out today! You've got to start somewhere. Onward and upward.
"There's nothing but sky to work towards," Heath said.
We've been waiting on this flight 20 years. It might be ready to take off.
Anyway, the chartered plane that was to have brought USF back from Kentucky had mechanical problems. They had to find in another plane to fetch Stan Heath and his team. The Bulls kept checking the Internet and saw that many bracket brains were finally aboard. Bulls World bubbled over. It's a surprise they even needed a plane to fly home.
"And when we got home, even though it was 4 in the morning, there were 10 kids there, students," Heath said. "They were holding signs, wearing the colors. It was fun and it was touching. Hey, you have to start somewhere."
And this might be just beginning.
Fasten your seat belt, Tampa.
They belong.
This is the best sports story in town.
Today, USF plays West Virginia at the Forum. Then it's on to the Big East Tournament. And maybe you know what after that.
First things first.
"I just got off the radio," Bulls senior forward Ron Anderson Jr. said Thursday. "They said the lower bowl at the Forum is sold out and we still have two more days left."
Maybe that says where USF still is _ 10 kids waving signs is a mob, and just filling the lower bowl matters _ but this team and its season out of nowhere has been such a wondrous gift.
It's been 20 years since the USF men last made the NCAA Tournament, and 20 years since they even had a real chance. Even bubble talk matters. USF has lived on the blister for two decades. The basketball program has been completely out of the conversation, not just tournament talk, but any talk, anywhere, including here. It's been a flyspeck.
But this is big.
Of course, it can go away with a badly-placed loss this afternoon. But with that win at Louisville, all or at least many detractors fell away and USF's 19-11 record, 12-5 in the Big East, stood taller.
"I think we deserve to be in," Heath said Thursday at the Lakeland Center, where, on no sleep, he watched his son, Josh, help Tampa Prep win a state basketball title. Nothing could top that. Still ?
"We deserve to be in. I think it's a slam dunk if we win Saturday," Heath said. "We've got to keep winning. But I definitely think that anyone who has watched us, we've passed the eyeball test."
In some ways, South Florida has already won. It has been forever since there was even a ripple of madness around here. We're talking about USF basketball in March. And it's not just make-believe. Two seasons ago, when USF won 21 games, no one outside the program, and maybe some inside, seriously believed USF was an NCAA Tournament team.
This is different.
These Bulls deserve to dance.
"How long has it been, 20 years?" Anderson said. "I was 2 years old."
He looked out on the USF practice floor, at Bulls freshman point guard Anthony Collins.
"He wasn't here," Anderson said.
He's here now, and so is everyone else on this team. It might be the birth of a March to remember.
"It would hurt if we didn't make it, because I think we should be in," Heath said.
This town wouldn't know what hit it. Or maybe it would. After all, the lower bowl at the Forum is sold out today! You've got to start somewhere. Onward and upward.
"There's nothing but sky to work towards," Heath said.
We've been waiting on this flight 20 years. It might be ready to take off.
