It didn't take South Florida long to make an impact on the football field in Big East play. On the hardwood? That's another story.

But the talent gap between USF and the rest of the league is lowering, and Stan Heath looks like he's leading the team in the right direction. The returning nucleus and a host of talented newcomers leaves the Bulls in shape to take a big step forward in 2008-09.

The backcourt should again be solid, as Dominique Jones looks to build on his Big East All-Rookie freshman campaign and Jesus Verdejo is back to provide offense. Running the point will be Chris Howard, who started to emerge as a capable point guard last season as a sophomore. Georgia transfer Mike Mercer will be eligible to play in the second semester and has the scoring punch to make an immediate impact.

Replacing Kentrell Gransberry in the paint will be key. The Bulls are hoping for a favorable ruling on newcomer Gus Gilchrist. Gilchrist hasn't yet played a college game, but has already signed letters of intent with both Virginia Tech and Maryland without actually taking the court at either school. Now enrolled at South Florida, he hopes that the school is successful in petitioning the NCAA to make him eligible immediately.

If that happens, Gilchrist is good enough to play right away. But counting on charity from the NCAA is generally a losing proposition, so if he does wind up sitting, fellow frosh Eladio Espinosa and Gene Teague will join juco transfer Alejandro Rivas-Sanchez and holdovers Mobolaji Ajayi and Aris Williams in the paint.

Heath is trying to make this an up-tempo team that is more than an afterthought in the Big East. He's getting there, but the squad may still be a year away from breaking out of the bottom four in the league.

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