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It's been awhile since we caught up on USF headlines (although there aren't many of them this time of year). Let's take care of that.
Twitter / DavidBaumann33: I have confirmed with my guy ...
David Baumann of 1080 AM in Orlando was the first to report that former USF point guard Chucky Atkins will rejoin the program as a student manager. Essentially he'll be an extra assistant coach -- the student manager position lets him finish his degree, which he hadn't quite done yet when he started his NBA career. And with that degree in hand, he'll be able to move into college basketball coaching. (Because hiring guys who don't actually have their degrees is something we'll leave to Rutgers.)
After being inducted into the USF Hall of Fame last spring, Atkins spent the last year coaching at his high school alma mater, Orlando's Evans High School, and took them all the way to the Class 7A state championship game. One of USF's 2013 commits, Dre Klayton, played for Atkins at Evans.
Chucky is one of three Bulls with their numbers retired, and around here his claim to fame is being the top end of our point guard quality scale, the Chuckycrater.
Bulls' Mitchell transferring to D-II Fort Hays State | Tampa Bay Times
This likely ends the USF career of Terrence Mitchell, who had been indefinitely suspended from the team back in March following a misdemeanor marijuana charge. (Seems like there must have been more going on than that if he's leaving for Division II, but we'll probably never find out.)
Looking back at Mitchell's career, it's easy to see him as a player who Skip Holtz jerked around and could have made less effective in the process. He was going to return to cornerback this season, which would have given us a clear answer to the question of whether or not his move to offense was a good idea. Mitchell was becoming a useful wide receiver, though. He was second on the team in receptions last year, with 31, and he might have been USF's best punt returner since Ean Randolph.
Mitchell's biggest issue may have been his recklessness. Coaches love it when players lay it all on the line, but when you're 160 pounds soaking wet and you're throwing yourself headlong into plays, injuries are bound to happen. He knocked himself out twice that way -- suffering a season-ending concussion against UTEP in 2011 making a flying tackle on a fake punt, and another concussion against Cincinnati last year when he launched himself head-first into Drew Frey trying to make a block.
Who knows how effective Mitchell would have been in a Willie Taggart offense, which doesn't seem to have a lot of use for little guys. A change of scenery might do everyone some good.
Q&A: Mike Aresco, American Athletic Conference commissioner - CBSSports.com
The American's been dealt a pretty lousy hand, and I don't think there was a whole lot Aresco could have done to stem the tide once he took over as commissioner. The good thing is he's clear-eyed and open with the league's present and future, and at least he was in the loop after Maryland was picked off by the B1G and the ACC started circling for a replacement. You couldn't say that about some former commissioners we could name.
2013 schedules are starting to come out for the fall sports. The interesting thing for me is the travel pairs for non-revenue sports, and that they aren't exactly the same for each sport. The soccer pairs right now are: USF and C. Florida, Houston and SMU, Memphis and Rutgers (who will likely be replaced with Tulane), Cincinnati and Louisville (who will likely be replaced with East Carolina), and Temple and UConn. The volleyball pairs are similar, but Temple and Rutgers switch places.
Of note for our far-flung staff: Women's soccer plays in both Austin (Texas) and Dallas (SMU) this year, while volleyball visits Omaha for a weekend tournament hosted by Creighton.
Former USF basketball player Leather arrested | Tampa Bay Times
Not good news for Terrence Leather, one of the precious few bright spots on Robert McCullum's first couple of USF teams. He's looking at four charges, including two felonies, following an incident in Ybor City last week.
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Oh, and I see Bianchi stuck his finger down his throat and vomited out 700 words on Willie Taggart, which we will not link to.