2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule |  What We Learned – Week Six Recap  

By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist

Given how its men’s basketball team has started the season, it’s fair to say the Hilltop is hopping.

Whether it’s sharing the ball, spacing the court, rebounding or playing resolute defense, San Francisco is making a case that it might well be the second-best team in the West Coast Conference after Gonzaga, currently ranked No. 8 nationally.

“I don’t see why not,’’ USF guard Charles Minlend said. “We’re trying to be first in the conference.’’

Said former USF coach and current Dons’ radio analyst Jim Brovelli, “I would not be surprised if someone knocks off Gonzaga. The league has improved. I think the conference is really going to be exciting this year.’’

The Dons are 11-1 going into Saturday afternoon’s game against Stanford at Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center, the lone loss coming in Belfast, as in Northern Ireland, to now-No. 14 Buffalo in a November tournament. USF already has a Pac-12 win on its resume – on the road, no less – when it traveled across the Bay Bridge and routed Cal 79-60 on Dec. 5.

After Stanford, USF concludes its non-conference slate at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 29. The Dons begin   West Coast Conference play on Jan. 3 at home vs. Saint Mary’s and are brimming with confidence.

“One thing that’s exciting is we’ve won different ways in each game,’’ Minlend said. “We’re finding ways to win. I don’t think we’re playing our best basketball. There’s room to grow.’’

That should give the rest of the WCC pause for thought. Through Dec. 18, the Dons are No. 1 in the conference in scoring margin at +21.4, No. 1 in points per game allowed at 58.2 and No. 1 in rebounding margin at +11.0. If this USF team was a house under construction, it has an excellent foundation.

“I think it’s just experience,’’ third-year USF coach Kyle Smith said. “We have really good leadership, particularly (from) our captains, Frankie (Ferrari) and Nate (Renfro). They’ve been easy to coach. I think we’ve been really good defensively. We’ve made some adjustments offensively to suit to who we had coming back.

“I’ve had the same staff for three years, so we have continuity.’’

What the Dons also have is balance. Some teams have a teeter-totter approach with a single big-time scorer, meaning one end of the plank is resting firmly on the ground. With the Dons, that plank is darn near level.

USF does not have a dominant scorer. Instead, it has four players within four points of each other in per-game scoring with Minlend at 14.4, Ferrari at 12.5, Jordan Ratinho at 12.3 and Matt McCarthy at 10.8, meaning opponents’ defensive effort is focused on who, exactly?

“On the offensive end, no one has any hidden agendas. We’re selfless,’’ Minlend said. “It helps us. We just take the shots that are there. It makes us hard to guard.  We utilize our strengths very well. It makes us very dangerous.’’

Ferrari, the point guard running the show, said, “Being well-balanced has helped in terms of (opponents’) scouting. If we can do that, we’re as dangerous as anyone. Our senior leadership is great. The top seven, eight contributors have been together for the last three years. It’s a veteran group.’’

That group includes seniors Ferrari, Renfro and McCarthy, junior Ratinho and redshirt sophomore Minlend, who missed 2017-18 with a shoulder injury. Seven-foot junior Jimbo Lull is also a significant contributor.

“Kyle Smith has done a great job of coaching his system, getting the most out of those guys,’’ said Brovelli, USF’s coach from 1985-95. “They play together as well as any team I’ve seen. They play good defense … they space the court so well on the offensive end. They really complement each other. Frankie Ferrari is doing a good job of controlling things at the point guard position. He understands tempo.’’

Playing a Pac-12 team, a Power 5 team, in Stanford, at home on a Saturday afternoon (televised by the Pac-12 Networks) represents a significant game for USF. As does UC Santa Barbara, on the road, to conclude the non-conference schedule.

“We’re looking at it as a big game,’’ Minlend said of the Cardinal. “We understand the geographical importance of the game. It’s a home game. One of our goals this year is to be undefeated at home. We understand the narrative. We want to do whatever it takes to win the game.’’

After missing last season with a shoulder injury, Minlend was over the moon to rejoin his teammates in 2018-19, saying, “Words can’t describe how it feels. It’s an amazing feeling to be playing again. That was the first time I wasn’t able to play basketball. To be able to play with such great teammates who are selfless is awesome.’’

In his role as USF’s radio analyst, Brovelli had an opportunity to watch a Smith-run practice session when he was coaching in the Ivy League at Columbia. This was at a time when USF was looking for a new head coach.

“I said, ‘This guy is really good. He really knows what he’s doing,’ ‘’ Brovelli said. “He fit right in at USF. He’s doing a tremendous job. … It’s a consistent effort in every area, game-in and game-out. They wear on people. They don’t get out-coached. It’s just a very good team right now.’’

USF missed an opportunity test itself against another Pac-12 team when its home game against No. 18/19 Arizona State on Nov. 16 was postponed (and likely will not be made up) due to poor air quality in the Bay Area resulting from wildfires in Northern California. Stanford on Saturday and UC Santa Barbara on the 29^th represent significant non-conference games before the start of WCC play.

The Dons are rolling, and the Hilltop is hopping. Will it continue?

“I don’t see why not,’’ said Minlend, happy to be back in the mix.