USF signs highly touted hoops prospect

Things keep getting better for the USF mens' basketball team, which recently finished its best season in school history.

Coming on the heels of the announcement that Victor Rudd said he would be returning to school instead of making himself available for the NBA draft, USF signed 6-7 forward Zach LeDay from The Colony High School in Texas on Wednesday.

A versatile scorer, DeLay averaged 20.6 points and 9.4 rebounds a game and scored in double figures in 34 games in leading his team to a 30-6 record.

"Zach was an important signee for us," USF head coach Stan Heath said. "He fills a void in our front line after losing Ron Anderson and Gus Gilchrist. He is a guy who can score inside and out and is very versatile in his game."

LeDay makes USF's 2012 recruiting class, which was ranked 12th by HoopScoop, even stronger joining highly touted prospects Waverly Austin and Javontae Hawkins and junior college transfer Musa Abdul-Aleem.

Search for SCF hoops coach reaching its final stages

The search for the next State College of Florida head basketball coach is reaching its final stages, according to athletic director Matt Ennis.

Ennis said the school has named four candidates who have been invited to on campus interviews following a series of phone calls with earlier applicants. The in-person interviews began this week.

"The response has been great. We've had a lot of interest and we hope to make the decision by the end of next week or the following week," Ennis said.

Whoever is hired will become the fifth person since 1999 to head the mens' basketball program. Chip Sines coached the team for for three years and took the then Lancers to the state tournament in his final season.

He was followed by Brac Brady, who was ultimately fired, Reggie Bellamy and Joe Whelton, who resigned after last season, his only stint as the head coach. Bellamy took the program to the state tournament one season.

Lack of adequate money to help with recruiting has been a common theme since the late 1990s as a reason the program has not be able to be a consistent winner and annual state tournament contender. The head coaching job is a part-time position.

Vitale praises Rudd's decision to return to USF

Victor Rudd's decision to remove his name from the 2012 NBA draft and return to USF is one of the best off seasons moves, according to ESPN college basketball super analyst Dick Vitale.

"He would not have been a first round pick and needs a lot more seasoning. He has talent, but needs to show more consistency in his game," Vitale said.

The 6-8 sophomore wing man played his first season for USF after transferring from Arizona State and was an integral part of the Bulls magical run to the NCAA tournament.

Rudd was USF's second leading scorer at 9.3 points per game and averaged 4.8 rebounds. He played his best basketball in the post season helping the Bulls reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament and the Big East Conference tournament quarterfinals averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds.

"Based on this process and the feedback that I received after putting my name in the NBA draft pool, I've decided that it's in my best interests to return to USF," Rudd said.

Vitale called it a wise decision, noting if you are not a first round pick you don't receive a guaranteed contract. But he was adamant that Rudd needs to play an entire season at high level and develop his game where he is consistently among the top players.

"Victor has to show he can play at a high level for an entire season. He showed promise during the end of the season, but he needs to do it for a longer period of time," Vitale said.

Needless to say, USF head coach Stan Heath is pleased to have Rudd back. His return means the Bulls will have four of their top five leading scorers and three of their top six rebounds for next season.

Rays put Farnsworth on DL with sore elbow

As expected the Tampa Rays placed closer Kyle Farnsworth on the 15 day disabled list Thursday and called up right hander Josh Luke.

Farnsworth, who had a career high 25 saves last season, is suffereing from an elbow strain. There are a lot of estimates on how long he will be out for one. At the worse one scenario has the right hander sidelined for six weeks.

Rays manager Joe Maddon is not one to panic and he didn't sound any alarms. He said the Rays never officially had a closer and that role would be filled by committee for the time being.

That means any of a number of Rays could be closing; the most likely are Jose Peralta, newly acquired Fernando Rodney, J.P. Howell and Jake McGee. There is also the distinct possibility Wade Davis, a starter for two years who has been assigned to the bullpen could wind up closing games.

The 27 year-old Lueke was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for catcher John Jaso. The right hander made his Major League debut last season and appeared in 25 games. He had an 8.06 ERA in 32.2 innings and struck out 29.

In 2010 pitching for four minor league teams had 94 strikeouts in 63 innings and his 13.43 strikeouts per nine innings ranked seventh among Minor Leaguers.

Cody Rogers goes from prosthetic technician to home run hero for Rays

Minor leaguer Cody Rogers gave Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon something to remember about him when he slugged a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth on Monday to enable the Rays to sqeeze out a 6-6 tie with Minnesota.

Rogers, who is a prosthetic technician (makes artificial limbs) during the off season, is certainly a young man who makes the most of his opportunties. In four spring at-bats with the Rays, the outfielder has hit two homers and driven in four runs.

David Price looks sharp in final tune-up for Yankees

David Price pitched four solid innings against the Minnesota Twins in his final tune-up for the regular season when he will pitch against the Yankees on Saturday at Tropicana Field.

The Tampa Rays lefty allowed only four hits and struck out six throwing 42 pitches with 28 going for strikes. He was slated to throw only four innings.

It was his seventh start of the spring and followed his seven inning stint last week against Pittsburgh when he threw a spring high 92 pitches (59 for strikes).

Austin Gordon, Brian Cobb and Tre' Bryant shine in PAL game

Does any college need a basketball player?

Well Austin Gordon, Brian Cobb and Tre' Bryant showed they are more than capable of playing on the next level Saturday night in the PAL Senior All-Star basketball showcase.

The big surprise might have been the 6-6, 205 pound Gordon, who got lost amid a struggling Manatee High basketball team last season.

Gordon showed his mettle in winning MVP honors with a spectacular performance that included 15 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and a few highlight reel dunks while connecting on 7 of 11 field goal attempts.

Cobb missed nearly the entire season at Lakewood Ranch coming off ACL surgery. But the 6-6 swingman looked like he is close to getting back to form with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Bryant, who played all season, showed his deadly accuracy from 3-point land in filling up the nets with a team high 22 points that included 14 in the second half. He was 4 for 8 from beyond the arc.